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Grizzly Bear viewing close up

August 18, 2013 Lodge Guide

grizzly grazing — Click to enlarge then click again

The red coat in the corner of the picture is intentional to show how close the grizzly bear viewing can become. The grizzly bear tours travel up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River where we tie to a float and transfer to a sixteen-foot aluminum skiff to view the bears along the shore and in the river estuary. The loaded skill only draws about eight inches of water and when the depth is about two feet your guide, in waders, enters the water to move the boat along the shore or up the river. At times I have had guests ask me to move back a little, as they did not want to change their lens again. The grizzlies are normally so intent with eating the sedge grass that they do not acknowledge our presence and only look up to swallow before they return to grazing. The photo date in August 18th so we are viewing in the estuary and with the bears waiting for the salmon to arrive. NOTE enlarge the photo

Branded Steller Sea Lion

This Steller sea lion was branded at Forrester Island in Southeast Alaska that is the “F” in the brand. Branding occurs at several places along the west coast of North America as part of project to discover the reasons behind the mysterious disappearance of sea lions and what it could mean for the ocean ecosystem. Since 1980, the world population of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) has dropped from around 300,000 animals to fewer than 100,000, and it is still declining. Possible causes include increased incidence of parasites and disease, predation by killer whales, nutritional stress through competition with man or other species for food, or nutritional stress caused by natural and/ or human-induced changes in the abundance, quality and distribution of prey. Other factors that may be contributing to the population decline include meteorological changes (i.e., frequency of storms), pollution and toxic substances, entanglement in marine debris, and incidental and intentional take by man. Whether the decline is caused by a single factor or a combination of all of the above is a matter of scientific debate.