One of my favourite photos as it shows the power of a grizzly bear. “This is my Christmas present – thank you .”
Grizzly Watching
Grizzly Bears are magnificent and the biggest reason visitors choose our lodge!
Grizzly bears thrive here and the viewing opportunities are spectacular. We have operated our Grizzly Bear Lodge for decades and know the prime spots for bear watching. The ultimate grizzly bear photo opportunities.
Guest comfort zone
Not much of a close up but the story is great. The guests are in a 5.5 meter (yard) skiff we use to watch grizzly bears on the Glendale River. We were moving slowly up the river (slowly because the motor is off and you are being towed by your guide) and had stopped watch a bear that moved around the point behind the bear in the photo. To the right of the guest’s head is another channel off to the right and this bear came out of the channel chasing a salmon. In all the splashing water the bear lost the salmon about 15 meters (yards) from the boat. It stopped, looked at us and then walked over to the point and continued to fish. No one got a good photo but I learned about the guests “comfort zone” and backed a little ways down the river and thus the photo.
Spring Grizzly Bear Bonus
Not bad for a pocket camera Pentax – Optio Wpi 6MP and 3X Optical Zoom. This posting is to let your imagination go and think of the photos with a “good lens” camera. We were close enough that my guests got some great photos, which were shared back at the lodge during the “bragging session”. This is when guests share the day’s photos and exchange email addresses so they can all get the photo they missed.
Grizzly Bear cubs finding
From our position in the viewing stands it was not hard to determine why the cubs were searching. Mother was the goal but more important is the food that they hope she will share. Often the mothers will fish in the deep water because they can pick up dead salmon off the bottom with little effort or waste of calories and also it is harder for the cubs to fight for the salmon while they are swimming.
Grizzly Bear cubs searching
Below the viewing stands (after August 24th ) we have two grizzly bear cubs swimming in the morning sun. The stands overlook the natural river as well as the entrance to the man-made spawning channel. These two cubs are not lost but rather on a mission. See tomorrow…
What is the Grizzly looking at? 1 of 2
Prior to August 25th the grizzly bear tours from the lodge view bears in Knight Inlet’s Glendale River estuary. The viewing is from a 5.5 meter (yard) flat bottom skiff, which allows use to move up the river as the tide rises (see Nov. 27th posting). The advantage of the early season tours is that you are at eye level with the grizzlies as this photo shows. What you must realize is the sedge grass this bear is eating is at least a meter (three feet) high so this is not a cub. What is it looking at? See tomorrow’s post….
Returning from a Grizzly Bear Tour 4 of 4
Another ten minutes along the shore we found a black bear that we watched eat barnacles it had scraped off the rocks. It then sat and watched us until we moved on to the lodge. If you look at the lower part of the photo you will notice the bare spot missing barnacles.
Returning from a Grizzly Bear Tour 3 of 4
I know the grizzly bears are omnivores but I had never seen one grazing on seaweed. As the photo shows this bear is in good shape for the time of year so this is either a source of salt and iodine for a health reason or this bear has found a food niche that works for him.
Returning from a Grizzly Bear Tour 2 of 4
This bear was half way down the inlet in a place that I had never seen a grizzly. We stopped, turned and slowly approached the bear. The key is to take your time and go slowly and there is a good chance for close up photos.
Returning from a Grizzly Bear Tour 1 of 4
Running back to the lodge after a successful grizzly viewing trip we are constantly of the lookout for black bear. The key word is “black” and on this day it was an alert guest that spotted the “brown” spot on the beach that “lifted it’s head” as we moved past.
