Grizzly Watching

A good photograph showing the claws on this sub-adult grizzly bear. Brown bear or grizzly bear claws are long and curved, ranging in color from yellow to brown. These claws are used to dig up roots and bulbs of plants, to excavate den sites as well as wrap around and hold salmon.

Guest to the viewing platforms on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River occasionally ask why is there a caged walk way up to the first platform. This photo is the answer showing that some of the juvenile grizzlies are curious. The grizzly bears have been known to use the wire of the cage as a back rub but none have been aggressive or tried to force the gate.

When we have our fall grizzly bear tours to the viewing stands on Knight Inlet’s salmon river it is to view the grizzlies catching and eating salmon. In this photo are two sub-adult sibling grizzly bears. At this age there is no longer the rivalry that occurred when they were with their mother. They are now able to catch their own food and do not share. As cubs it was the mother grizzly’s responsibility to ensure enough food was provided to fatten the family to survive the winter now the former cubs are on their own.

This photo was taken on August 23rd just two days before our grizzly bear tours are permitted to use the viewing stands on the Glendale River. This grizzly was in the river’s estuary and the guests were in the large skiff used to move up and down the river. The bear was approaching the river and eventually swam across to follow the salmon up river. The grass is at least a meter (three feet) high so this is not a small bear and the stare from the bear means we were within its comfort zone so we drifted down river to let it pass.

In human terms we would like to think that this photo shows a love bond between mother and cub although this may be true in this case the cub wanted to nurse. Grizzly cubs generally stay with their mother for two years; some will stay for three or four if she does not become pregnant in the fall of their second year. Grizzly bear are extremely good mothers, and, consistent with the high level of “investment” they make in their cubs to ensure their survival, they are very protective of them. Because of this, encountering a grizzly bear with young can be very dangerous. During the first two years of their lives, the sow will teach her cubs everything they need to know to survive on their own. She will school them in finding and exploiting different food sources, and the cubs spend significant time observing her actions and learning them for themselves.