Tag Archives: Bears

One for the Road

Grizzly cubs with salmon

We had been watching this mother catch, eat and share salmon with her cubs for about forty-five minutes. As this mother decided it was time to move on the one cub did not want to but a few growls and it grabbed the salmon it did not want to leave and started to follow. As first year cubs they do not stray to far from their mother even for food.

 

First Sighting of Grizzly Bears

Grizzly bear in river estuary

For the first half of the season at Grizzly Bear Lodge our bear tours require us to use a skiff to view the grizzlies along the shore of Knight Inlet and in the Glendale River. As the tide starts to rise we move up the river to view the grizzlies grazing on sedge grass or digging up roots and as the salmon arrive they are in the river. The first sighting (picture above) of a bear is the most exciting and the guests start taking photos and do not seem to listen when the guide says their will be better opportunities later (picture below). As we move up the river we stay to one side and the bears are often just across the river, a river that is only 15 to 20 meters (yards) wide. The bears have accepted our presence and as long as we are quiet and make no sudden moves we are ignored.

Grizzly bear family on river

 

 

 

 

Four Grizzly Bears?

How many grizzlies

If my memory serves me there are four grizzlies in this photo.  They are Bella and her two cubs plus another sub-adult. Actually there were two sub-adult siblings that came to the Glendale River estuary and they played with Bella’s cubs. We (the guides) were not able to identify the siblings but thought they must be related to Bella or she would not have been so friendly or allowed them to play. In the spring (June and July) there are a number of bears that make the river estuary their home plus bears that are travelling through and may stay for a few days or weeks.

 

 

Who Eats This Salmon

Grizzly cubs salmon over fight

The mother caught the salmon now the fight is to determine the eater. This family was just below the viewing platform we use after August 24th. The water is about one meter (three ft.) deep which is ok for the mother but once the cub has the salmon it is necessary to get to shore to eat. So the family fight is to retain the salmon and to make it to the nearest shore about five meters (yards) away. The good news is that there is an abundance of salmon so everyone will get their fill.

 

 

Estuary Grizzly Bears

River Grizzly Bears

Prior to August 25th grizzly bear watching from our lodge occurs in the Glendale River bay and estuary. We travel one hour and fifteen minutes by boat up Knight Inlet to the river. At the river we transfer to a 5.5 meter (yard) flat bottom skiff. The shallow draft of the skiff allows us the move closely along the shore and to go up the river as the tide rises. The grizzlies have accepted our presence allowing us to get close enough for good photos. No this photo was not taken with a “large” zoom lens rather my small Pentax Optio 6 mp 3X Optical Zoom point-and-shoot camera which is waterproof. The waterproof is important because I am in the water pulling the boat up the river. The conclusion to make is that we were close to these grizzly bears.

 

 

Just One More

one more salmon

This past summer there was an abundance of salmon and as the previous post suggests many were allowed to drift down stream to the less fortunate. The other factor in salmon selection by the grizzlies is that they will often discard the male salmon (no eggs) but they still have other fatty parts. Several of the bears around the viewing stands did not waste energy chasing salmon rather they sat on the shore and eat those drifting by or in this case piling up on the bank. In this photo the mother had eaten her full and was heading for a rest while her two-year-old want another.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Eating Style

Grizzly eating salmon

The view from our platform on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River overlooks the entrance to the man made spawning channel.  After August 24th this is the centre for the grizzly bear watching tours. This grizzly eating the salmon headfirst may seem strange. But when salmon is very abundant the skilled grizzly bears that catch lots of salmon will start only eating the fattiest parts of the fish – the brains, eyes, skin and eggs. They then drop the discarded salmon into the water where it is swept downstream to be eaten by smaller or less experienced bears, gulls, ravens, crows, eagles and other scavenging animals. See tomorrow’s post.

 

 

Extra Lodge Day

Trapper's cabin

If as a guest you choose to stay an extra day with us at Grizzly Bear Lodge we take you to our wild river, the Kakweiken River. Viewing Black Bear, Seals, and perhaps a school of playing White-Sided Dolphins on the way. Once at the river you meet one of our river guides, Trapper Rick or his assistant, and ride the Trapper’s “Grizzly Truck” to the spawning area of the river. Here you may view grizzly and Black Bears and Bald Eagles while watching the schools of salmon preparing for spawning. If you wish, fish off the bank for the salmon or trout. On this day while guests were enjoying a picnic lunch at the trapper’s cabin, which overlooks the waterfalls, I took a few pictures. The one above of the cabin and guests and then I walked to the right side of the above photo to get a picture of the river and one of the fishing pools to find a black bear approaching the cabin. Needless to say lunch was interrupted for a few photos.

Black Bear

 

 

 

 

Well fed Grizzly Bear

Large grizzly bear

Unlike the black bear in the May 8th posting this grizzly bear has access to the rivers that contain spawning salmon and flow into Knight Inlet. The overhead view means this bear was near the viewing platform on the Glendale River, which has a man-made spawning channel. This platform is used by Grizzly Bear Lodge after August 24th for its grizzly bear watching trips. This is a large well-feed male grizzly that definitely getting close to it’s hibernation weight.

 

People Watching Tour

Black Bear

This past summer black bears were hard to find along the shore as the berries seemed to last longer than normal so the bears stayed in the bushes. However we still managed some good photos and in this case I am not sure who was more interested the guests or the bear. The first evening in the lodge we do a black bear tour so you get to know your guide, the operation of the boat and work up an appetite for diner. See tomorrow’s post.