Spring grizzly bears grazing on the sedge grass in the Glendale River estuary. This mother and cubs were frequent visitors to the estuary because of the protein rich grass and the good beach for rolling rocks for a different protein. Triplets are reasonably common and on occasion a mother with four cubs will pass through our viewing area. The reason the bear population is increasing is the number of births some of which are multiple births and with the abundance of food means most of the cubs survive. It is an interesting circle because when a pregnant bear hibernates if it is in good health (because of lots of food) the eggs are not absorbed and therefore more bears give birth and so on.
Sea Otter Sightings

The last 3 years we have been starting to view sea otters in our area more regularly. They are still often a distance away, but the sightings are increasing with some “rafts” of them developing in areas near the western portion of our whale watching trips. These animals were hunted heavily for their fur and were completely wiped out of British Columbia waters. Re-introduction occurred from Alaskan otters in the 1960’s. They have long been protected and their numbers have been steadily increasing along the exposed BC coast and are now moving back into inside waters. They are unique in that they don’t have the insulating blubber that other marine mammals use to keep warm. As a result they have dense (over 1 million hairs per square inch) fur and feed heavily. They are important in balancing the eco-system. They eat a lot of sea urchins, which eat a lot of kelp. Kelp is extremely important as it provides cover for juvenile fish and is where the herring spawn in the early spring. With the increase in these otters we are seeing a greater abundance and healthier kelp forests.
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