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.

Third Grizzly Bear

Estuary Grizzly Bear

This is the third grizzly from the posting of June 18th. It came down the bank of the river not far from our boat and had absolutely no interest in what we were doing. It was about 15 meters (yards) away and as far as it’s interest it could have been a kilometer (mile) away. It passed by and went to the edge of the water and stared out into the bay for about five minutes. Seemed to lose interest and returned to be with the other grizzlies.  All I can think of is that there were two yachts anchored in the bay and maybe it smelled food.

 

 

Grizzly thinking?

Itchy Grizzly Bear

The lodge’s grizzly bear tours after August 24th use the viewing stands on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The view of the bears from the stands is from above so the perspective is different that when on the river in the skiff. This photo show a bear just below the stands in a meter and half (4.5 feet) of water. It is sitting down and taking a break from fishing and her three cubs which are eating salmon on the bank about 10 meters (yards) away.

 

Spring grizzlies in the river estuary

Estuary Grizzly Bears

Both the grizzly bears and I are waiting for the tied to start to rise. They are hoping the rising tied will bring more salmon into the river and I am in the water towing our guest in a skiff up the river. We had been watching these bears for about half an hour and wanted to move up river to locate a mother and first year cubs. This photo was taken with my small Pentax Optio WPi camera without using the zoom so these bears were quite close and the guests already had their “bucket list photos”. But there are always more and better photo opportunities around the next bend in the river.

 

 

Grizzly appreciating beauty?

Grizzly Smelling Flowers

I am not sure if this bear was enjoying the beauty of the flowers but it did appear that way. It proceeded to eat some of the grass in the area but not the flowers so maybe there is some hope for wildlife.

 

 

Smelling for what?

Sniffing a beach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:  “Scenthounds as a group can smell one- to ten-million times more acutely than a human, and Bloodhounds, which have the keenest sense of smell of any dogs,[citation needed] have noses ten- to one-hundred-million times more sensitive than a human’s. They were bred for the specific purpose of tracking humans, and can detect a scent trail a few days old. The second-most-sensitive nose is possessed by the Basset Hound, which was bred to track and hunt rabbits and other small animals.
Bears, such as the Silvertip Grizzly found in parts of North America, have a sense of smell seven times stronger than that of the bloodhound, essential for locating food underground. Using their elongated claws, bears dig deep trenches in search of burrowing animals and nests as well as roots, bulbs, and insects. Bears can detect the scent of food from up to 18 miles away; because of their immense size, they often scavenge new kills, driving away the predators (including packs of wolves and human hunters) in the process.”

Even if the above statement is wrong by a thousand times a grizzlies sense of smell is amazing. This bear was checking on a grizzly that had passed an hour earlier but I have also seen them walk along a river in the fall and dig up salmon eggs. Often the river water level will drop exposing gravel bars were salmon had laid their eggs only to be dug up by grizzlies.

 

 

Blacktail deer and grizzly

Black tail deer

It is common to see deer and grizzly bears in close proximity. On the beach they will be with in 50 meters (yards) of each other and the bears will not attempt to run down the deer. It is a calculation of how much energy will be used and the chance of success and to a grizzly the answer is NO. On this day we were moving up river and waiting for the tide to rise before our next move. The grizzly and cubs we had been watching moved across the river (can see the mother grizzly on the stump on the far side watching) when a doe and two fawns walked across in front of our boat. The deer in the picture is a small fawn so the water in only 20 cm (6 inches) deep and about deep enough so we can move up river.

 

Grizzly bear Giving Directions?

Grizzly Bear claws

This mother grizzly does not have her claws out in anger to discipline her cubs. A grizzly’s claws are not retractable they are meant for digging or on this day catching salmon. This is a bear that was tired of having the cubs too close which made it harder to catch salmon.  Once they moved off a ways she was able to catch more and then shared but the sharing was on the shore where the cubs were able to eat.

 

 

Grizzly watching us?

Grizzly Bear Watching

 

Every once in a while it appears that we are in a zoo. By that I mean our guests and myself are in a cage, the viewing platform, and the grizzly bears are free on the outside and watching. On occasion the bears do pause from their catching and eating salmon to glance our way. It may be the clicking of a camera or a sudden movement above their head but they do notice but not for long as food has a higher priority and not “something” in a cage.

 

Pacific Whitesided Dolphins

Dolphins playing

Grizzly Bear Lodge has three different day trips: one to grizzly bears, second to watch killer whales and humpback whales and the third a visit to a wild river and Trapper Rick. The pacific whitesided dolphins of this photo may be seen on all these trips. The dolphins we encounter are often in pods of several hundred and are always interested in playing with the boats as they ride the bow wave or come within a meter (yard) of the prop at the stern of the boat. There is not much marine wildlife that can compare to running with a pod of dolphins that are with in an arm length of the boat.

 

 

Estuary Grizzly Bears – extra legs

River Grizzly Bears

 

Prior to August 25th the grizzly bear tours from the lodge spend the day in the Glendale River and it’s estuary. We use a 5.5 five meter (yard) flat bottom skiff to move along the shore and quietly up the river while we watch grizzlies. As the tide rises we move up river and encounter bears digging roots, eating sedge grass and chasing salmon once they arrive. This summer (2014) Bella and her cubs were frequently in this area to entertain guests and provide photo opportunities. Their attention is not on us but rather two sub-adult bears that have come to the beach, in fact we have become part of the scenery and are normally ignored by the grizzlies.