The reason we travel up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River and to the viewing stands is to obtain pictures such as this one provided by Mike and Christina from Florida. In the fall we are able to spend two hours a day, between 10 am and 12 noon, observing the grizzly bears as they catch and eat salmon to fatten up before winter hibernation. The pink salmon in particular is the primary food source for grizzly bears in late summer to early fall. The rock turning on the beach in early summer and the many berries that are available are important food sources but it is the salmon that add that necessary layer of fat.
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.
