The viewing platform used on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River provide a slightly downward angle to the grizzly bears. In this case the grizzly was beneath the platform providing an excellent view of it’s claws. Over the years we have had return guests who had come at both times of the season and as of yet there is no agreement to which is best.
Watching a grizzly bear from our 5.5 meter (18 foot) flat bottom river skiff is different than from the viewing stands. On the Glendale River or along the shore of it’s bay you are at “eye-level” and often receive that direct eye to eye contact which is permissible at a distance. Close up it could be viewed as a threat so it is avoided. This is the viewing prior to August 25th when we move to the stands on the river. See tomorrows posts….
It is amazing that this black bear had just swam between two small islands but with one dog like shake it appears dry. Five of six times a summer on whales watching trips we encounter black bears swimming between the many islands as we travel from the lodge to the area of Johnstone Strait. If you go to “Categories” and select “Wildlife Tour Itinerary” along the area to the right you will get some idea of the number of island we travel through and the routes of Grizzly Bear Lodge’s various trips.
This photo was taken about fifty meters (yards) down river from where the grizzly bears in yesterday’s post where standing. The water is a little deeper so fishing is harder but other grizzlies were managing to catch salmon. It is all in the technique and depends on the hunger of the grizzly.
This is the wait and they will come technique. After August 24th the grizzly bear watching is from a platform up the Glendale River. At this location the grizzlies pick off the salmon as the approach the weir into the spawning channel. These bears spent most of the morning waiting for the salmon to move up river rather than moving down to the salmon. See tomorrow….
The water was shallow enough that the fish could not escape and the grizzly picked up several salmon in a short time. Other grizzlies use different techniques, again see the next post…
Each grizzly grizzly bear has it’s own technique for catching salmon and this appeared to be the least successful, at first. We came around a bend in the river to see this young grizzly slashing through the water and thought that it would be fun to watch not expecting much catching. We were wrong, see tomorrow…
The cubs are up and hungry but it is sedge grass for lunch. Sedge grass stalks are spiky, wide and stiff but the sedge grass is up to 25% protein, and this is the reason why grizzly bears prefer eating it to other grasses. In the spring a grizzly bears diets consist of approximately 70% of sedge grass to replenish their lack of proteins during hibernation. Diets shift with the seasons, as summer approaches the berries start to replace the sedge grass and fall brings the salmon into the Glendale River.
Late July and it has been a warmer than normal few days and because of this the rocks have retained the sun’s heat and make for a warm bed. We found these three grizzly bear cubs along the side of Knight Inlet’s Glendale Bay enjoying a morning nap while their mother enjoyed some down time to graze on the sedge grass. See tomorrows post….
Beside not being the clearest photo it is interesting because it captures the meting of a mother grizzly with three cubs and a sub-adult male grizzly bear.
Coming from opposite directions it was the young male that was most surprised as the wind was at it’s back and he was not able to smell the mother. The mother had picked up on the males scent earlier and was not concerned. It was the male that retreated to the upper beach and walk around the family before moving along the beach. Most grizzlies go out of their way to avoid a mother with cubs.
Just like that another season has come to an end. We are grateful for all the wonderful staff and the guests this season. It was an excellent season and we are already looking forward to next May.
One of the highlights of the season was all of the new cubs out. It was awesome to see so many new cubs of the year and that is great news for our bear populations moving forward. We had great spring viewing and this continued through summer. On our river trips we started to see salmon arriving in August and enjoyed some great shoulder season viewing. The fish at the viewing platforms were a little late showing up this year, but viewing during late September at the platforms was great and the estuary viewing remained strong throughout the season.
Out in the whale watching world it was another year that saw large numbers of resident Orca who remained in the area right into October. The Humpback viewing was also great with large numbers feeding in Blackfish Sound. It is so amazing to have these magnificent animals back in our waters in such numbers.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We rebuilt the front deck last spring, utilising cedar cut on site. We will continue with some siding, rooms improvements and hopefully a floating sauna ready for the start of our season.
2026 is already looking like a very busy season for us. We only have limited high season availability so please book early to ensure we have space for your group.
Looking forward to seeing you next year
Angus Reid
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