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Grizzly bears fishing?

August 4, 2013 Lodge Guide

grizzly fight — Click on photo to enlarge then click again

This could be mistaken for a “fight” or disagreement over the right to fish on a certain part of Knight Inlet’s Glendale River but actually it is a mother grizzly bear disciplining her second year cubs. Even sitting down you can see she has a definite weight advantage and check the size of the stomachs. This mid-October photo shows that these bears are in good shape for hibernation. The grizzly or brown bears of BC we view on our wildlife safari trips do well in hibernation because of the abundance of salmon.

Grizzly coming to investigate

Grizzly 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.