Tag Archives: Bears

Grizzly Bear Reunion

Friends

Not an easy picture to explain as a mother grizzly with cubs is not normally that friendly with other bears. This is Bella in the back with one of her two cubs (I could not get all into one picture.) meeting with juvenile siblings in the Glendale River estuary. And no these are not her previous cubs but she seems to have accepted them as family and we frequently saw them together over the summer. Talking with the other guides in the area we could not understand the behaviour but we accepted it as it made for some great photos as the five of them got together and played.

 

 

Spring Grizzly Bears

Grizzly and cubs on Log

These cubs are about eight months old and still stay pretty close to their mother. Our spring and early summer grizzly bear trips travel up Knight Inlet and we start looking for grizzlies along the shore for that last half hour of an hour and a quarter boat ride. On this day we had changed in to the river skiff, which allows us to travel in the shallow water of the river before we saw bears. When in the river your guide is in the water pulling the boat up river and this permits a slow and quite approach to the bears. They are not frightened and this produces some amazing photographs.

 

Black Bear Swimming

Black Bear Swimming

 

On the first evening in the lodge guest go for a tour to look for black bear. This wildlife trip lasts a little over an hour and we normally see eagles, seals and black bear. However all tours from the lodge are by water and therefore we look for black bears. This was one of our lucky days.  I remember, coming back from whale watching we had stopped for a few minutes to look at a fish farm and the other boat got about five minutes ahead of us.  They must have just passed through this narrow channel when we came upon large male black bear swimming between islands. This was a fat bear because it was swimming high in the water in the early spring only their head is above water. Thanks to Marc & Solange from France for the photo.

Grizzly Mother with catch

grizzly fishing

This grizzly bear uses the same method as the cub from yesterday’s posting. She sits in a deep (1 to 2 meters – 3 to 6 feet) area of the river and picks up the dead salmon off the bottom. She does not even bother to look into the water but rather reaches down and pulls up salmon until she has one that meets her criterion of eatable. The calorie value of salmon does not change if it is several days old but the amount of calories burned to catch the salmon makes a difference. The grizzly bears of central British Columbia do not have this source of food to fatten for the winter so “waste not want not” seems a good policy.

 

Black Bears on Tour

Black Bear Knight Inlet

 

 

BB cubsI recall these black bears because for most of the season it was hard to get photos of black bears.  All our guests had good photos of grizzly bears but photos of black bears were much harder to obtain. These three bears, mother and two cubs, were on a rock face on the shore of Knight Inlet on the return trip from watching grizzlies all morning. They were on the shore scraping muscles off the rocks and we followed them along the shore for the better part of half an hour as they moved in and out of the bush as they worked their way down the shore for better patches of muscles to eat. Paul and Sheila took the larger photo while the smaller one was from my camera to show there were three bears.

Arrival at the Glendale River-1 of 3

Estuary Tour

On your spring and early summer tour day with the grizzly bears we are in the boat and leaving the lodge by 8:00. It is and hour and fifteen minute boat ride up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River. On the trip up the Inlet I look for black bears, eagles, dolphins while the guest enjoy the scenery. Upon arrive we get into a sixteen foot skiff which we use to travel in the shallow waters of the river estuary. This morning has a low tide and we are waiting for the tide to rise so we can move up the river. And NO the guest are not alone at this point the guides are in the water pulling the boat up the river that is why the motor is raised.  Notice the grizzlies close enough for a long lens. More tomorrow.

Two Grizzlies Grazing on Sedge Grass

Estuary Grizzly Bears

Spring in Knight Inlet does bring some large grizzly bears to the lodge’s tour area in the Glendale River estuary.  The spring and early summer bears are eating the high protein sedge grass or turning over beach rocks in search for other forms of protein. These are good-sized grizzlies for the spring.  They are keeping a wary eye on the viewing boats.  This is a low tide, which means the guests are in a sixteen-foot skiff and we are working our way up river and providing opportunities for good photos and memories.

An Abundance of Grizzly Bears

Grizzly Bears Too Many?

As a guide I do not have much opportunity to take pictures especially in the spring. Grizzly viewing takes place in the Glendale River estuary about an hour and fifteen minute boat ride up Knight Inlet from our lodge. On arrival we change boats to use a sixteen-foot skiff which allows us to travel up the river and along the shore in shallow water.  The “up river” portion of the day means that the guides are in the water pulling the skiff in the knee deep water and to minimize the noise. Pulling the skiff often means that my camera is in the back of the boat while I am at the front but on occasion I do manage to take a picture but not always of ALL the bears at once.

Grizzly at Work

Click to enlarge then click again

After August 25 the Grizzly Bear Lodge’s guests travel up Knight Inlet and the grizzly watching takes place from viewing stands on the Glendale River.  This is a classic pose after a good catch.  A salmon in the mouth is the reasons the bears come to this part of British Columbia’s coast and also the reason we take you to the premier grizzly viewing location on the coast of British Columbia.