Grizzly bear viewing from our lodge is an hour and quarter boat ride up BC’s Knight Inlet to Glendale Cove. Once in the cove we change into a 5.5 meter (yard) flat bottom skiff that allows us to follow the grizzlies along the shore and up the river. On this day a grizzly bear was taking a short cut across the bay and we were able to get some good photos. Part way down the column on the left of this post is “Pages” and under that “Google Map of Itinerary” if you take the time to follow the link and read the instructions you will have the “Google Earth Map” of our viewing areas.
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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