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.
Grizzly Bear Enjoying a Salmon
Great photo from Lindy Taylor of a Grizzly Bear having just caught a salmon and looking for a safe place to eat. The abundance of salmon in the area reduces the fighting between grizzlies but it pays to be cautious. Most bears just move to the bank of the river to eat however some use one of the many rocks located in the river. It is estimated that there are between 45 and 50 grizzlies that come to the Glendale River to take advantage of the salmon that spawn in late August through October.
Grizzly Bears Fatten for Hibernation
“Grizzly bears feeding on Salmon. Photo taken from the viewing platform.”
Lynn is correct that the grizzly bears seems to have the catching and eating part down pretty good. Some grizzly become selective in what part of the salmon they will eat. Some prefer only the eggs, others the brain or skin and others “everything”. The parts they tend to eat often are determined by how close they are to hibernation.
Great Blue Heron at Grizzly Bear Lodge
“Early morning from Grizzly Bear Lodge. We were in total awe of the beauty of the scenery and the silence – this place is just stunning. The staff, the location, the food – everything was just perfect!
We captured this stunning photo of a Great Blue Heron just by chance as we stood on the jetty waiting for our boat to take us to the Bear viewing platform. The scenery in the early morning mist was just stunning.”
Thank you, Lynn for the compliment although we do try hard we cannot take credit for the scenery.
Grizzly Bear Enjoying Lunch
“Bears, bears everywhere. Amazing to see the bears swimming and so relaxed so close to the viewing platforms. This photo was taken from the viewing platform, giving us a good panoramic view of the Bear activity!”“Having a swim and eating lunch at the same time!” As Lynn indicates the viewing platform used by Grizzly Bear Lodge provides a view of the natural river as well as the entrance to the spawning channel. Grizzly bears spend time fishing in both areas the choice depends on the number of bears in the area as well as the concentration of salmon.
Salmon waiting to spawn
The entrance to the spawning channel is directly below the viewing stand used by the lodge after August 24th. The salmon wait in this area before they proceed over the weir which is the entrance to the man made channel that was built to increase the success of the pink salmon’s spawning in Knight Inlet’s Glendale River.
Grizzlies Fiahing in Knight Inlet
Lynn’s comment: “Just caught that Salmon!! It was fascinating watching the bear’s fish. We couldn’t believe how many Salmon those bears caught and ate. They just kept eating! The river was just like a soup of Salmon.”
The grizzly bear watching day takes you on a ride up Knight Inlet to Glendale River. After August 24th the viewing takes place from the stands, which overlook he, entrance to the man made spawning channel. This is where the grizzlies come to fish, eat and fatten for the winter. For “salmon soup” see tomorrow’s post.
Grizzly Mother with catch
This grizzly bear uses the same method as the cub from yesterday’s posting. She sits in a deep (1 to 2 meters – 3 to 6 feet) area of the river and picks up the dead salmon off the bottom. She does not even bother to look into the water but rather reaches down and pulls up salmon until she has one that meets her criterion of eatable. The calorie value of salmon does not change if it is several days old but the amount of calories burned to catch the salmon makes a difference. The grizzly bears of central British Columbia do not have this source of food to fatten for the winter so “waste not want not” seems a good policy.
Grizzly Cub with Catch
Although Bob and Helen’s photo shows the grizzly cub with a salmon it is important to read the posting from December 7th to remember that the cub did not really catch the salmon but rather picked it up from the bottom. It does not matter the source of the food as long as it provides the necessary calories to fatten for hibernation. The grizzly bears of Knight Inlet start to hibernate in late November or early December depending on the winter and the important part is the amount of fat and not the source. Tomorrow’s post shows mom’s method of catching salmon.
Grizzly Bear Triplets
Comparing this photo with the posting of December 5th it is obvious that they are the same bears but the background is different. In the background of this photo are more than a dozen dead salmon. This summer was an extremely dry with no rain for several months. The lack of rain meant that the Glendale River was lower than normal and Tom Brown lake that feeds the river was much warmer than normal the result was a very low oxygen level in the water and many dead salmon. The dead salmon count was several thousand but many of the late arriving salmon stayed in the bay at the mouth of the river so when the rains came in October so did more salmon.
