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.

Grizzly Bear Coat Colour

grizzly bear coat colour

“The coat of an individual bear may change colour during the year, with the new coat in summer a dark rich brown, while the worn coat becomes tawny or reddish brown. The winter fur is thicker and coarser than the summer fur and appears shaggy. During summer the old inner fur and guard hairs are shed; by autumn there is a fully developed coat, with guard hairs about 10 cm long, underfur about 8 cm long.” This explains the coat on this bear which appears to be in transition form a summer to winter coat. In our grizzly viewing area we have notice that the coats will darken after the grizzlies have been feeding on the oil rich salmon.

From Grizzly Bear Lodge’s Front Deck

sunrise

This photo is much harder to get than one of a grizzly bear. Although the sun does rise every morning it is often behind the layer of cloud that hangs over BC’s Knight Inlet. By mid-morning the clouds have burned off but it is past sunrise time. Actually while on the whale watching tours it is nice to have a little cloud cover as it is better for photos than the bright sun reflecting off the water.

Bald Eagles Feeding

wildlife tour watching bald eagles

The herring ball mentioned in the May 14th is an ideal place for bald eagles to feed. The summer of 2015 on the BC coast was a summer with an abundance to eagles. This photo was one chosen from a group that had over thirty eagles feeding in one area. Two of the eagles without the white heads (means they were born this summer) are learning to pick herring out of the water. They follow one of their parents on a diving run and copy their technique hoping for success.

Grizzly Mother and Cubs Foraging in the River

grizzly bear and cubs fishing

It is after August 24th and we are watching grizzly bears from the viewing stands on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. This mother with larger cubs than yesterday’s post is waiting for salmon to move into the shallow water. About 20 meters (yards) to this bear’s left is a school of several thousand salmon in a holding pool. The pool is two meters deep which makes it hard to catch the salmon so the grizzlies wait for them to move up the channel over the weir to the spawning area. The approach to the weir is shallow and a good place to fish.

 

 

Grizzly Mother and Cubs Foraging on the Beach

watching grizzly bears rolling rocks

This photo could be from this time of the year because Grizzly Bear Lodge starts their wildlife tours in mid-May however the cubs are a little large so I would make it mid-June. In the early spring the bears are on the beach to turnover rocks. This inter-tidal zone “food” is high in protein and is made up of crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. The “beach food” is important because berries are relatively scarce during spring and bears will continue to loose weight until well into June.

Ducks Herding Herring

murres schooling herring

Even used Thesaurus.com to try and find a better word than herding but I could not because that is what these duck are doing to the herring. It is a little hard to see in this photo but the dark shapes with white patches are common murres under water feeding on a school of herring. The herrings defense is to form a ball that revolves within itself. We are next to this herring ball on a whale watching tour because there are NO humpback whales close. If they were close we would be back from the herring ball because they like to lunge feed and you do not want to be to close if that is happening. Check May 9th post.

Dall’s Porpoise – Phocoenoides dalli

dall’s porpoise wildlife tour

Dall’s porpoises are speed demons reaching speeds up to 55 km/hr. They suddenly appear out of nowhere and disappear the same way. Although they ride in both bow and stern wakes of boats, they seldom stay for very long. Next to impossible to get a photo if you are moving but frequently if the boat stops suddenly while they are playing they will come to investigate and it is possible to get “under water” photos. The white in the corner of the photo is the edge of our boat.

Grizzly Bear Eating Seaweed?

watching bears eating seaweed

This is more common than one would think. It is not a result of the lack of other food it is more because seaweed is full of vitamins and minerals –vitamins: A, C, E, K and B and minerals: iodine, selenium, calcium and iron. Not sure how many grizzly bears have a degree in advanced nutrition but over the centuries they seem to have learned what is good for their system.

Grizzly Bear Grazing

viewing grass eating grizzlies

In the spring grizzly bears come to the Glendale River estuary to feed on the sedge grass as it is up to 25% protein and the berries in the coastal forests are not yet available. At lower tides when more of the beach is exposed the bears will spent more time turning over rocks in the inter-tidal zone looking for food high in protein such as crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. Much of a grizzly’s time in the spring is spent in search of food. This changes in the fall once the salmon arrive and food is more abundant. Spring grizzly bear watching is along the shore from the water while the fall viewing is from a stationary platform.

Steller Sea Lions at Haul-out

sea lions on the BC coast

A sea lion haul-out is an interesting place to visit but you would not choose it as a good location for a picnic lunch. First is the constant roar. Scientist say roaring is a way that they can protect their territory when they feel threatened. This is often enough to get both humans and other animals to leave them alone. There are many sites on “YouTube” that give you an idea of the volume of the roar but nearly all of them are for “one” seal lion whereas most of the time we are viewing thirty or forty sea lions. Second is the smell. Enough said.