Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Tour Blog

We offer an exceptional fly-in lodge for Grizzly Bear Watching and Whale Watching in British Columbia.

Learn about What’s happening at the Lodge, view our British Columbia’s Wildlife Report, read our Grizzly Bear Watching Blog and Whale Watching Blog. Learn more about a Day on the River Blog, see Our Tour Guide’s Photos & Blog and  Photos from Our Guests.

Wild River Day – 6 of 7

trapper rick
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salmon jumping river falls
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Trapper Rick is a fountain of knowledge about his unique river valley.  He has worked for years to have the valley and bears protected and is very passionate about the area in which he lives. As shown in the first photo he is always willing to share his knowledge with the guest and has many stories about the bears he has known over the years. The guests photographing in the background are trying to get a photo like the second photo in the blog. A salmon jumping the falls. This will require you to click on the photo and then click again until it takes the full screen.

Wild River Day – 5 of 7

ricks lecture
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fish ladder around falls
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The small falls below Rick’s cabin for some reason created in the Department of Fisheries a need for a fish ladder. The fish had been making it over the falls since fish started going over falls too spawn so a ladder was not really needed but it did permit the weaker fish to make it further up the river and thereby weaken the genetic strain of these pink salmon. (Personal comment.) The orange support beams in the first photo go around the corner in the second photo to show the ladder by passing the falls. A trail from the cabin passes along the edge of the ladder. The third complete box up from the lower right corner is the one the grizzly bears climb into to grab salmon. It is like the fishponds at a kid’s school fair dip down and back up with a salmon in minutes. It is possible to be at the top of the trail and watch the bears disappear into the “salmon pen”.

Wild River Day – 4 of 7

grizzlies by cabin
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photographing grizzlies
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The bears in the first photo are the ones I mentioned in yesterday’s post. After we moved to the deck the mother grizzly and three two year old cubs came up the bank from the river to just below the deck of the cabin. This photo is one I took from my small camera before they came closer and it was necessary to be more concerned with the bears than getting better pictures. But I can assure you the guest obtained good photos. Once these bears moved down the river to the fishing area and we waited until they settled in to fish we then moved down the river nearer the fish ladder and more photos were taken. All in all an excellent day on the river.

Wild River Day – 3 of 7

relaxing
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bear arrived
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On completion of the short walk from the boat pool to the cabin the first order of business is to make sure there are no grizzly bears below the bank by the cabin and then we move to the deck. (I mention this important fact because on one of my visit I came within several meters (yards) of a bear). Just past the cabin there are falls on the river and a fish ladder were the grizzly bears come to fish. We normally sit on the cabin deck as it is possible to see the approaches to this fishing area and when bears appear we then leave the deck (picture 2) and follow Rick for a closer view and great pictures.

 

Wild River Day – 2 of 7

river scenery
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beautiful river
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On the fifteen-minute walk to Rick’s cabin we spend some time on a decommissioned bridge (and that story you will have to hear from Rick) which provides views of the Kakweikan River. The first photo is looking up the river to the boat pool and the second down river to the bend where the cabin is located. Depending on the time of the year salmon will be spawning below the bridge while the bald eagles fly overhead.

Wild River Day – 1 of 7

dolphins playing on tour
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More photos of a wild river day go to  “Categories” on the side and “River Day”. Also select “Google Map of Itinerary” under “Pages” to locate the icon for “Extra Day”.

On the extra day in camp we take a forty-five minute boat ride across Knight Inlet, through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick.  This river is located on the BC mainland and once there we travel by road to Rick’s cabin. Along the shores through Thompson Sound there are black bears and the occasionally grizzly bear but most of the grizzlies are viewed in the area of the cabin. On the boat ride we frequently come across large pods of pacific white-sided dolphins, which like to play in the bow wave and prop wash of the boat.

 

Whale Watching Safari – 5 of 5

resident orca pod
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After leaving the sea lions and entering Blackfish Sound the orca we saw earlier in the day appeared this time in the sunshine. Blackfish Sound is an appropriate name for this area as that is the name used by the locals and the only name I knew growing up for what are now called killer whales and orca. Names the result of advertising for tourism. The name is not really important what is important is the majestic appearance of these mammals and the thrill obtained with the first sighting on a tour.

Whale Watching Safari – 4 of 5

stetter sea lions
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bald eagle
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As the day progresses on a whale watching safari the sun tends to burn off the fog and normally by noon it is necessary to position the boat to get the sun at our back for better photos. Mid-morning we have a break in Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island and although we have a good picnic lunch and cold drinks on board guest often want a hot drink and especially to use the bathrooms. Heading back across Johnstone Straits to resume out wildlife viewing we stop by Stubbs Island and enjoy the Steller sea lions sunning on the rocky islands. Close by in the trees are many bald eagles posing for photographs.

Whale Watching Safari – 3 of 5

dolphins
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dolphins close
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Not bad for a one handed shot over the bow of the boat while driving with the other hand. The only way to get any decent photos of the pacific white-sided dolphins is to point, shoot and pray. Less than hour after we left the orca of yesterday’s post we came across this pod of close to three hundred dolphins which were feeding in Parsons Bay. They scoured the shore stopping to feed on several occasions providing opportunities for some interesting photos. I have being wildlife guiding at Grizzly Bear Lodge for more than ten years (all the lodge’s guides have been working at the lodge that long) and I think dolphins still put on the best show as they are within a meter of the boat with their nose often in the prop wash from the motor.

Whale Watching Safari – 2 of 5

orca
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more orca
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This was a normal “foggy” morning in August when we first found this pod of orca in Johnstone strait. The posting on February 17 will show the same orca in the sunshine later in the day. If you remember from my previous posting these photos were taken with a small waterproof Pentax (an optio, 6.0 megapixels with three times optical zoom) point and shoot so these orca came quite close. The first photo was when they appeared out of the fog and we shut off the motor and waited while they approached the boat. Again the guest photos are much better than mine are as I was also using the hydrophone to listen to their calls. If you check the December 26, 2013 posting you will see how close the orca came to the boat while they were listening to our hydrophone.