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.

What Kind of Bear? 1 of 3

Black Bear BROWN

This photo may give some of the readers of this blog a chance to think. Our grizzly bear tours travel up Knight Inlet from the lodge on Minstrel Island to the area of Glendale Cove on a daily basis. This photo was taken several years ago on one of these morning tours and the guest in the boat were not sure that the guide was correct in his statement of the kind of bear. The next two posts will show you the choices.

 

 

Porpoising 2 of

Killer Whale

Orcas, or killer whales, are the largest of the dolphins so it is only natural that they will often behave like dolphins. There are both resident and transient pod populations of killer whales in our viewing area the most common being the residents. Resident pods tend to prefer fish, while transient pods target marine mammals.

 

Porpoising 1 of 2

Pacific White Sides Dolphins

Two definitions for the same activity take your pick I know the one I like. In this case a pacific whitsided dolphin is porpoising.

From Oxford Journals “Porpoising is the popular name for the high-speed surface piercing motion of dolphins and other species, in which long, ballistic jumps are alternated with sections of swimming close to the surface. The first analysis of this behavior (Au and Weihs, 1980) showed that above a certain “crossover” speed this behavior is energetically advantageous, as the reduction in drag due to movement in the air becomes greater than the added cost of leaping.”
Or Porpoising Definition – Birding and Wild Birds – About.com (verb) The act of leaping in and out of the water in a short, shallow arc while swimming.

 

 

Bald Eagle Catching

Bald eagle fishing

Not all fishing attempts by bald eagles are successful and if they do not succeed it is still a pleasure to watch. In the tour area of Grizzly Bear Lodge there are many mating pairs of eagles and it does not matter if you are on a grizzly, whale or the extra day trip you will see eagles. Actually when you are sitting on the front deck of the lodge eagles fly overhead.

 

 

Grazing Grizzly Bears

Grizzly with triplets

Grizzly bear viewing prior to August 25th is along the shore and in the estuary of the Glendale River. This is the area the mothers first bring their cubs in the spring. There is an abundance of high protein sedge grass as well as turning over beach rocks for the crawling protein. This photo is from early July so these cubs are five of six months old. At this time of the year we are in a 5.5 meter (yard) skiff, which allows us into the shallow water along the shore and in the river. This photo was taken with a Pentax Optio Wpi 6MP and 3X Optical Zoom that is a good quality point and shoot but most guest have better cameras so imagine the pictures they have.

 

 

Grizzly Move Over

grizzly on causeway

Viewing grizzly bears after August 24th means that we drive over a logging road to viewing platforms that overlook the entrance to a man-made spawning channel. The stand we use is located at the end of a finger of land that goes between the channel and the natural river so we have water on three sides. This also means the road we use is also the road the bears use when crossing from the river to the entrance to the spawning area. Grizzlies frequently pass close to the stands and as we leave the area after our allotted time we often need to stop and wait for bears to clear the road.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Lodge

Grizzly Bear Lodge

Almost a complete photo. It shows the dock and boats used on the three different day trips. One up Knight Inlet to the grizzly bears, a second to Johnstone Straits to the marine wildlife, and the third to Trapper Rick’s if you choose to stay the extra day. Next the main lodge which normally accommodates six guests has a large deck where guests spend their time off the water sharing pictures. The next building is owners, Angus and Krystle’s cabin. Missing just past this is the water front cabin, which accommodates two more guests bringing the lodge total to eight. So if you want to avoid the crush of a lodge with thirty plus guests you are reading the right blog.

 

 

Humpback Whale Breaching

Humpback Whale

It is not that we do not see allot of whale activity it is just rare to have the camera pointed in the right direction when it happens. In the past five years the numbers of humpback whales in our viewing area has increased from two or three a trip to more than a dozen. On your whale watching trip from the lodge there are all the marine life mentioned in the September 2nd posting as well as a very active humpback population. We frequently see whales lunge feeding, tail lopping (slapping) and breaching the challenge is to get the perfect photo. At times it is necessary to remind guests to put down the camera and just enjoy.

 

Grizzlies Fighting or Playing?

Grizzly bears fighting

Although this may look like a serious fight it is not. In late August after the salmon appear in the Glendale River the number of bears in the area increases from 10 to 12 to more than 40 but there is still so much food that it is not necessary to fight for a fishing spot. These are siblings doing what they normally do after they have had enough to eat – playing.

 

 

Extra Day In Camp

Trapper's cabin

If you choose the extra day in camp we cross Knight Inlet pass through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick.  This wild river is located on the BC mainland and we travel by old logging roads to the river we cross then a fifteen-minute hike to Rick’s cabin. The above photo is of Rick’s cabin while the lower photo shows the view from the cabin’s deck. Looking down the river past the falls there are good spots to fish for salmon or trout if you are interested the only caution is that you may be sharing the area with other fishers (not people but grizzlies). This past season was a good one for sharing and many guests obtained excellent photos of Rick’s bears.

Cabin View