Guide Photos

Awesome sights on a daily basis!

Each day our guides see something new, it never gets old for these guys. Check out some of their photos from guiding bear and whale watching excursions.

Unhappy grizzly cub

Grizzly cubThis photo taken in late September shows a seven month old grizzly cub waiting for mother to provide lunch. It would be lunch as our time on the viewing stand on the Glendale River is between ten and noon.  Mother cannot be to far away because at this age the cubs do not leave their mother side for very long. Mother will be close by fishing for the pink salmon that have come into the river to spawn. There are several rocks in this part of the river that are favourite perches for the hungry cubs.

 

Blackfish in green water

Orca and glacial waterBlackfish, aka Orca, or more commonly, killer whale – a creature that inspires awe in BC boaters. “Blackfish” is what the coastal Kwakwaka’wakw band (First Nation’s peoples) the original inhabitants of the Northern Vancouver Island area in British Columbia called the orca.  In fact one area most frequented by the orca is known as Blackfish Sound.  However, this photo was taken in Knight Inlet as indicated by the colour of the water. Knight Inlet is fed by fresh glacial water and this “floats” on the salt water.  The rock flour, or glacial flour, consists of fine-grained, silt-sized particles of rock, generated by mechanical grinding of bedrock by glacial erosion. Those rock particles or glacial milk refract the green spectrum of the sun’s light so it appears green.

 

Black Bear Cubs

Black bear family
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A common saying at the lodge is “black bears are where you find them” meaning that on all tours whether for grizzlies, whales, or the extra day at the river we are always looking for and finding black bears.  In this case it was a June trip up Knight Inlet for a morning run to the grizzly bears that Glen took this photo of a black bear and her triplets. Twin cubs are common triplets less so but not rare. These cubs are likely three to for months old being born in their den February. Many of the black bears is the area have come to accept boat traffic and do not necessarily run for the nearest tree as this mother indicates by her stroll along the rocky shore.

Two for one Eagle Picture

Bald eagleBald Eagles mate for life, as do most birds. However, if one dies or is lost, the one remaining will take a new mate. Although male and female eagles have the same coloring there is a difference in size. Females are about 1/3 larger than males. Another way to tell them apart is to measure the height of their bill. The female’s bill is always deeper than the male’s and usually has a larger hook than the males. All this being said it is still hard to tell which of these two is the male or female. It is definitely a mating pair because no two eagles would get this close to each other if they were not a mating pair.

 

Early morning at Grizzly Bear Lodge

From the Lodge's lawnEarly morning (6:30 a.m.) from the front yard of the lodge, early depending on which time zone you just arrived from, provides some great photo opportunities.  It is not uncommon to hear guest moving about the lodge before we (the guides) rise and shine.  This sunrise is reasonably common, as our mornings are frequently overcast.  The overcast is due to the wind funnel nature of Knight Inlet, which draws in clouds over night. The good news is that most days they are gone by noon.

 

Orca Tail Slapping

Tail slapping or lob tailing creates loud sounds above water and under water as well as providing a dramatic photo opportunity. It is said that orca may do this to relieve an itch, as their outer skin layer is continually sloughed as they swim. The growth of killer whale epidermal (skin) cells is about 290 times faster than that of a human forearm. Studies also suggest that killer whales are curious, with great tendency to “play” and to manipulate objects.  The killer whales in our viewing area, the Johnstone Strait, rub their bodies along the pebbly bottoms of shallow bays or “rubbing beaches” located in the Robson Bight. It is assumed they do it for tactile stimulation, or it may help remove external parasites and their outer skin. The reason is secondary the sight is s spectacular.

tail slapping killer whale
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Grizzy Bear Migrating

Grizzly swimmingGrizzly just out of waterThe photos are not as clear as they could be but my excuse is that I was maneuvering the boat while taking photos one-handed.  The interesting aspect is the location. We were heading back to the lodge from a day’s successful whale watching to find this grizzly swimming between islands.  We were about eight miles from the lodge toward Vancouver Island.  It has become more common in the past five years to see and have reports of grizzly bears in the area of the lodge and closer to Vancouver Island.  As a result of the healthy population of grizzly bears in Knight Inlet the sub-adult bears are being forced out of the area and are starting to migrate down the Inlet and across Johnstone Strait to take up residence on Vancouver Island.  Grizzly bears have been sighted on the Island from Sayward to Port McNeil. To view a map of the areas mentioned scroll down the sidebar on the left to “Pages” then to “Google Map of Grizzly Bear Lodge Itinerary”.

 

Four month grizzly bear cub

Grizzly and cub

In late may the grizzly bears bring their cubs to the beach in Knight Inlet.  The first beach is one that is tucked in behind a small inland about two miles west of Glendale River where most of the grizzly bear watching occurs. This is a small quite area free from male bears and provides the new cubs some sanctuary. I remember this photo taken by fellow guide, Glen, because on the first viewing of this cub it ran into the grass behind the beach logs. The second time, a day later, it also ran but came back our and hide behind it’s mother. This picture is the third visit where it sat and watched or boats.  They learn from their mother and in all that time the mother grizzly ignored our presence.  Not hard to tell that this is an early spring bear with the long appearing legs because the belly has not the full look of the late fall bears.

Perfect Eagle Picture

perfect bald eagle
Click to enlarge

Thanks Glen to one of the lodge’s guides we have the perfect eagle picture. An eagle coming down to pickup the pinky orange rock cod floating in the water. When the eagles are about the lodge and we have rockfish we gather guests on the floating dock and throw out the fish and this should be the result.  The biggest problem is the one or two second delay on most digital cameras.  Solution have a SLR digital to listen to the guide when he says click do it because that is your two second warning or all you will get is a tail shot or a ripple on the water.

Grizzly coming to investigate

Classic Grizzly PoseGrizzly bear viewing from the lodge on Minstrel Island requires run up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River estuary.  Once we arrive we transfer to sixteen-foot flat bottom skiff which allows us to travel in very shallow water. Being able to move in shallow water means that your guide can leave the skiff and manoeuvre the boat by walking along side. This permits us to move up the river at a low tide where as using a motor we would need to wait longer and the bears would have left the estuary. As I recall this picture is an example were a grizzly came to investigate and we slowly backed down river until curiosity was satisfied. No we were not in danger as any loud noise such as banging an oar on the metal boat and the bear would have left immediately.  The bears we view have come to accept our presence and do not show aggression only curiosity.