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.
Another great photo by Glen one of the camp guides and resident photographer. As guides we do have a little advantage over our guest in obtaining those unique photos. The advantage being the amount of time we have on the tours each summer but there is a down side in that we are running the boats so we also miss many opportunities.
It is amazing that this black bear had just swam between two small islands but with one dog like shake it appears dry. Five of six times a summer on whales watching trips we encounter black bears swimming between the many islands as we travel from the lodge to the area of Johnstone Strait. If you go to “Categories” and select “Wildlife Tour Itinerary” along the area to the right you will get some idea of the number of island we travel through and the routes of Grizzly Bear Lodge’s various trips.
This photo was taken about fifty meters (yards) down river from where the grizzly bears in yesterday’s post where standing. The water is a little deeper so fishing is harder but other grizzlies were managing to catch salmon. It is all in the technique and depends on the hunger of the grizzly.
This is the wait and they will come technique. After August 24th the grizzly bear watching is from a platform up the Glendale River. At this location the grizzlies pick off the salmon as the approach the weir into the spawning channel. These bears spent most of the morning waiting for the salmon to move up river rather than moving down to the salmon. See tomorrow….
The water was shallow enough that the fish could not escape and the grizzly picked up several salmon in a short time. Other grizzlies use different techniques, again see the next post…
Each grizzly grizzly bear has it’s own technique for catching salmon and this appeared to be the least successful, at first. We came around a bend in the river to see this young grizzly slashing through the water and thought that it would be fun to watch not expecting much catching. We were wrong, see tomorrow…
The cubs are up and hungry but it is sedge grass for lunch. Sedge grass stalks are spiky, wide and stiff but the sedge grass is up to 25% protein, and this is the reason why grizzly bears prefer eating it to other grasses. In the spring a grizzly bears diets consist of approximately 70% of sedge grass to replenish their lack of proteins during hibernation. Diets shift with the seasons, as summer approaches the berries start to replace the sedge grass and fall brings the salmon into the Glendale River.
Late July and it has been a warmer than normal few days and because of this the rocks have retained the sun’s heat and make for a warm bed. We found these three grizzly bear cubs along the side of Knight Inlet’s Glendale Bay enjoying a morning nap while their mother enjoyed some down time to graze on the sedge grass. See tomorrows post….
Killer whales (orcas) have a dorsal fin that is distinctive in that it is larger than most species relative to their body size. In fact, it is one of the characteristics used to identify individuals. Individual whales have slight variations in their fin shape. They also have distinctive nicks and scratches that help differentiate one individual from another. Additionally, killer whales have a whitish-grey patch of pigmentation on their back, just behind the dorsal fin called a saddle patch. Just like a human fingerprint, each saddle patch is different and these differences help tell the whales apart. The combination of the saddle patch and dorsal fin are used to identify whales on the water or in photographs.
I always enjoy a sunrise from Grizzly Bear Lodge’s dock. As a guide I am up before 6:30 to make sure the coffee is ready when guests are called and my boat is loaded for the day. Loaded with the picnic lunch, ice in the drinks cooler and enough gas tanks for a full day on the water. Full day being away from the lodge by 7:30 or 8:00 depending on the time of the season and back around 4:00 with a bathroom stop somewhere in between.
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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