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.
The grizzly bear viewing is not always about grizzlies fishing and eating salmon to fatten for the winter denning. While that is true for the adult bears the cubs in this case two year old cubs are like teenagers and much time is spent in play. Climbing the log jumble gym gives mom time to catch a meal that she can eat without having to share. It seems to work for this family as the photo was taken in late September and all appear to have a healthy layer of fat.
Whenever we are on the water for a day whether it is a grizzly bear tour, whales watching trip or the extra day at the river we are always scanning the shore for wildlife. Frequently the wildlife found is black bears. On this trip in late June it was a mother and cubs that are about six months old. Two things are interesting the first being that there are three cubs. Triplets for a black bear are rare the common number being one and twins occasionally. The second is all the white on the rock where the barnacles have been removed. Bears come to the shore in search of protein and scraping off and eating barnacles is one source. This appears to be one of their feeding areas.
Grizzly bear viewing on the rivers of BC’s Knight Inlet always presents opportunities for interesting photos. It is rare to see a grizzly standing with a salmon. Normally once the bear has the salmon it starts to eat immediately so it can get back to fishing for the next salmon. This bear seems in good shape but it still has long legs. The long legs means that it does not have the barrel of a fat belly that bears get when they are closer to hibernation that make their legs appear to be short and stumpy. Being that this photo was taken at the end of August with two more months to fatten it is more likely that this bear’s stomach is full for the day. Being that it has been eating sedge grass for most of the summer its stomach has not stretched to accommodate the larger meals.
Grizzly bear watchers from the viewing stands on the Glendale River often see a number of bears together in a small area. The abundance of easily caught salmon means that it is not necessary to fight for the best fishing hole. The grizzlies are more tolerant of each other as this photo shows to different mothers with their cubs sharing the same set of rapids. They may keep as eye on each other but rarely are protective of their “spot”.
The grizzly bear population of the viewing area in Knight Inlet is very healthy and has been growing over the years. Our lodge, Grizzly Bear Lodge, is located 40 km (26 m) from the main viewing river in Knight Inlet. Six years ago a grizzly bear in the area of the lodge was unheard of and now there are grizzlies on the lodge’s island several times a year. It is a small island so the bears come and go within a day but are frequently seen in the area. This bear was seen in the spring in a small bay not for from Minstrel Island on one of the evening black bear tours.
Grizzly bear tours in the fall, after August 24th, use the viewing platforms on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. This is an hour and quarter boat ride from the lodge and then a fifteen-minute van ride along the river to the viewing area. The platforms are located near the entrance to a man-made spawning channel that has a holding area for the salmon before they enter the channel. This holding area is the main attractions for the grizzly bears because of the abundance of easily caught salmon. In this case the grizzly decided to just sit and wait to see what might swim by to provide the next meal. Not all fishing grizzlies are aggressive or action bears.
The grizzly bear trips from the lodge travel up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River estuary. The bears come to this area in the spring because of the protein rich sedge grass, which keeps them going until the salmon arrive in late August. The grazing rights are shared with British Columbia’s black tailed deer. The upper beach along the shore of the river estuary is more or less rock free which gives the deer an advantage for a quick escape. The grizzly have come to accept their grazing partners and realize the chance of catching a deer is not worth the calories wasted.
On the first evening in Grizzly Bear Lodge guests go on an hour plus wildlife tour looking for black bear, bald eagles, seals etc. When this bear was first spotted we thought it might be reaching for a drink of water because we were in a bay with a stream and fresh water tends to float on salt water. We were proven wrong as the bear was after the mussels closer to the water. This is part of “the grass is always greener” theory as there were many mussels further up the beach.
This photo was taken on July 12 meaning that this grizzly bear cub was five months old and is already rolling rocks on the beach. Grizzly bear cubs will nurse for up to three years their mother’s milk being more than 30% fat. Depending on when a grizzly mother bear wants to wean her cubs, a decision often made when she decides it’s time to mate again, she will keep producing milk for up to three years. However, grizzly cubs begin eating solid food from an early age and can very quickly become not dependent on mama’s milk. Also notice the hind leg of the mother grizzly is almost furless likely a result of rubbing in the den. It fur did grow back over the summer.
This photo taken on August 27th shows a grizzly and her first year cub on the walkway between the two viewing stands. Just passing beneath our viewing stand and walking down the road. This bear is still pretty lean without the fat “belly” she will need prior to denning for the winter. The salmon have just arrived in the river and over the next two months her cub and her will need to add enough fat from gorging on salmon to survive the winter.
Just like that our season has come to an end. I would like to thank all of our wonderful guests and staff who made this year a huge success. I am happy to stay that all of our team is planning to return next season. We are actively taking bookings, with dates starting June 1 2025. Hope to see many of you next season.
The wildlife viewing this season was awesome. A couple highlights that come to mind was the shear number of salmon in our local rivers, as well as the abundance of Resident Orca. With salmon returns being so strong this year, we were happy to see bears in excellent condition. By the end of our season most of the bears had packed on a lot of weight and were getting very “picky” about what parts of the salmon they would eat. Hopefully this will translate into more cubs being born this winter. Another positive was the weather conditions. We had enough rain to keep our fire risks low and it made for some excellent wild berries. The bears took full advantage of this, with the berry season extending far past its normal conclusion. This did mean that we had to work hard to find bears during our summer season, (as they were often feeding on the berries deep into the forest), but moving forward it is excellent that they had such an abundant food supply. The Humpbacks also didn’t disappoint, with great numbers and a few new calves returning with their mothers to feed. After a slower year for resident Orca sightings, this season was one of the best that I can remember. In fact as Im writing this the A62 and A23’s are still being spotted in the area by dedicated biologists. Strong numbers of Chinook and Chum salmon are providing them with a steady food source. There are a lot of positive signs and we are hopeful that 2025 will be another great season.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We plan on having a new cedar front deck built in time for the 2025 season, as well as new ceilings and paint in parts of the lodge and rooms. Theres always projects on the go.
Felix, Julien, Ryan, Zack and Myself all look forward to welcoming guest in June. See everyone soon.
Angus Reid
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