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.

Bears of Knight Inlet

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Every tour from the lodge involves wildlife viewing in this case a rather large black bear.  This viewing was on a morning grizzly bear trip up Knight Inlet.  We leave the lodge about eight o’clock and it takes a little over an hour to reach the grizzly watching area but along the way we frequently see black bears.  This one enjoying breakfast on the beach, turning over rocks, eating barnacles or muscles, small crabs or anything that moves, as well as seaweed.  This is a good-sized bear and notice the white patch on the chest it is common.  “OK so we can’t all be grizzlies!”  was Harold Bailey’s comment for the photo he provided from his UK was the first week of September. 

Grizzly Bears and Scenery

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The extra day at the lodge includes a visit a very scenic and very wild area on a pristine river. The day will give you an opportunity to do a little wilderness fishing if you are so inclined, a little hiking and always a chance to see a grizzly bear. The view from the deck of “Trapper Rick’s” cabin is stunning. Not all the trails are this clear but they are an easy walk and always scenic. The river is always changing. Every corner presents another picture.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Alert!

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A day of grizzly bear viewing from our lodge requires a run up BC’s Knight Inlet to a salmon spawning river that attracks bears from the surrounding area. This grizzly seems to have its eye on us as it leaves the river and comes toward the viewing stand. Wildlife viewing, as you know is not a zoo but most of time the results are outstanding.

 

Grizzy Bear Right-of-Way

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If you choose to stay the extra night at our lodge the extra day is spent at a “wild” river on a wilderness tour.  We cross Knight Inlet pass through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick.  The scenery on BC’s mainland in breathtaking and the wildlife viewing provides a reasonable chance of grizzly bear sightings.  Bears are viewed below the falls at Rick’s cabin or on the road to the cabin.  In this case it was on the road and we wait until the bear decides to let us pass.  Having guided for the past twelve summer I can say that seeing a grizzly bear at Rick’s is a different sensation than see one from a viewing stand on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River.

Orca Watching?

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Spyhoping is an action taken by orca to get a better view of their surroundings. Although most books published on whale / orca behaviour show many pictures of this activity it is very hard to get a picture. If you have your camera pointed in the right direction and happen to be taking a picture on another orca activity you might just get a spyhop.

 

Grizzly bear fishing

So Many Fish So Little Time
So Many Fish So Little Time

This could be a two for one photo provided by Janis (from UK). A great shot of a grizzly bear with a salmon and also in the background, if you look closely a salmon coming over the small falls. If you click on the picture it will enlarge to give you a better view. On the wildlife safari trips it is easier to get a picture of a grizzly bear feeding than a salmon over the falls.

 

Whale identification

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Many of the humpback whales we observe in the waters of British Columbia have been identified with a number / name and have their pictures in a catalogue. The underside of a whale’s tail shows a range of white patterns. These patterns added to any scars or other markings are unique to each whale.

 

Orca watching safari

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The whale / orca watching requires a short run to Johnstone Strait in the area of Telegraph Cove on BC’s Vancouver Island. Guidelines are in place to prevent whale harassment but that does not mean that we don’t manage to obtain good photos. Orca being curious will frequently investigate us while we watch them.

 

Black Bear while Whale Watching

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Wildlife viewing is where you find it and many of the black bears we find are on whale watching trips. This black bear has done a good job of putting on weight over the summer. He is in good shape for the coming winter. This one was not going swimming rather was concentrating on getting more muscles and barnacles from the rocks before the tide rose.

 

Whale watching in BC

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A whale watching safari from the lodge produces interesting photos. We normally see one or two branded stellar sealions in the area of Telegraph Cove every summer. This brand number was reported to one of the other operators in the area and he reported back (after checking an Internet database) that this one was from Alaska and had not been reported for five years. The Alaskan sealions are in dramatic decline, over 30% in the past few years.