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.
Spring dining for a grizzly bear
Until the salmon arrive in the river in late August the grizzly bears of Knight Inlet find their food on the beach. This bear was scrapping mussels and barnacles from the rocks to obtain the protein necessary to keep it alive. These are eaten “in the shell” and with our motor turned off we can hear the crunching as well as the scrapping of claws. This look was “you are in my comfort zone” so we slowly backed off a few meters.
Rest stop on whale watching safari
This is the entrance to Telegraph Cove, which is located on Vancouver Island. It is two and half-hours north of Campbell River by car over a good paved road. Tour days from the lodge often last eight hours so it is good to have a “civilized” bathroom to use and Telegraph Cove serves that purpose. Also provides a short break from being on the water and possibly a hot coffee, latte or hot chocolate.
Waiting for dinner to be served
Once the salmon have arrived and after August 24th (per Government Regulations) we move up the Glendale River to the viewing platform to view grizzlies waiting for salmon. These two grizzlies (look carefully) were very good at catching salmon as one caught and moved off it eat its fish the other waited for a salmon to come within reach.
Its a Tough Office
Beautiful morning, with a boat fishing on Johnstone Strait. This area is frequented by the Northern Resident Killer whales in the summer, who are after the same thing as this fisherman (salmon). On a day like this its hard to beat it.
Humpback After a Lunge Feed
This Humpback Whale has just come up from under a school of baitfish and hopefully got a mouthful of fish. The photo captures the moment that the whale has closed his mouth and forced a burst of water out through his baleen.
Black Bear On the Bluff
We always keep our eyes open for Black Bears cruising the beaches at low tide. Sometimes it also pays to look up. Black Bears are much sleeker then Grizzlies and have short claws, which makes them excellent climbers. In the late summer there are often salal berries growing on the rocky outcroppings, which the bears enjoy.
Guide Photos
Grizzly bear cubs are born in the den in January or Febuary. The cubs will weigh approximately 500 grams ( 1 ½ pound) at birth, and arrive into the world blind, hairless, and toothless. The cubs will grow to weigh 3-4 kg (7-9 lbs.) prior to emerging from the den in spring. This photo was taken in early September so these first year cubs are six or seven months old. As you can see from the photo that this mother grizzly is still nursing. The milk from a grizzly is rich in fat, approximately 30% compared to a cow at 3% so these cubs will weight 27 – 45 kg. (60 to 100 pounds). Also the photo shows the difference in size in the three cubs the one being much larger. This is common and shows which of these cubs has a better chance of survival.
Awsome photos
Two incredible photographs the first being a humpback whale lunging through a ball of herring directly toward the boat. A perfect photo showing the herring in the spray, the baleen along the lower jaw and the growth on the pectoral fins. The second shows a female orca coming out of the water on its back with a calf on its belly. A unique photo that I have never seen duplicated or heard of from another guide in the area. Comparing the two photos one would say the humpback is much clearer, more close-up and would win as a photo until you were told that the orca photo was taken twenty of more years ago on 35mm film. So no second chance or multiple digital shots just a once in a lifetime photo.
Interesting Guest Photos
This grizzly bear had just spent some time rolling in the grass at the backside of the first viewing stand on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. If you take time to look at January 1, 20014 post it shows a section of Google map showing the location of the viewing stand on the rivers spawning channel. This bear has just left from beneath the stand and is strolling down the finger of land that separates the natural river from the holding pool where the salmon wait before entering the spawning area. The grizzly bears in our viewing area have come to tolerate or presence and ignore the click of cameras. As long as there are no flashes or sudden loud noises all in fine. Tim O’Neil of Great Britain provided this photo.
