Tag Archives: Bears

This mother grizzly bear with second year cubs was located part way up the Glendale River estuary.  The viewing of grizzly bears in the spring and early summer occurs along the shore of Knight Inlet and frequently in a river estuary.  It is about an hour and fifteen minute boat ride from the lodge to a float where we transfer to a 3.5 meter (sixteen foot) flat bottom skiff which provided stable viewing for the bears along the shore. As the tide rises and because the skiff has a very shallow draft we are able to proceed up the river and follow the bears into the taller sedge grass.

Grizzly bear cubs usually stay with their mothers until they emerge from the den in their third spring. By then they should have learned skills essential for survival on their own. This is still, it is a dangerous time for young, inexperienced bears without the protection of their mom and siblings will often stay together for a while, some even denning together the first post-mom winter. Grizzly bears are very playful—cubs treat their moms like a jungle gym. They also play endlessly with each other and even older siblings will still play together as this photo shows. It is common to view bears playing and if the photos were taken out of context one would think they were actually fighting.

This grizzly bear was in the pool, which is the entrance to the spawning channel.  The water is too deep to allow the bears to pin the salmon on the bottom and then grab them with their mouth so the fishing technique is a little different. The salmon caught in this area are ones that have been injured or killed by the bears further up the channel and have drifted into deeper water and are being lifted off the bottom by the lazier bears. Less energy is used in this fishing and the salmon taste the same however on this day the water was a little “muddy” from the previous day’s rain so it was fishing by “Braille”.

This summer there were some warm days on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. This photo was taken on the first of September from the viewing stands.  After August 24th Grizzly Bear Lodge’s grizzly watching tours are permitted to use the viewing stands on the Glendale River, this is an hour and fifteen-minute boat ride from the lodge. This grizzly bear was on the natural riverside of the stands just enjoying the cooler river water.  It spent about ten minutes just sitting and letting the cool water flow past before it resumed fishing for the “pink” salmon.

The back of the viewing stands has the natural river, which is much shallower than the holding pool and also a travel route to the pool. This grizzly bear spent more than half an hour working the river, catching a few salmon before it moved further up the river. If my memory serves me well we saw more than a dozen different grizzly bears on the trip and had good bear viewing all morning. Grizzly Bear Lodge is allotted two hours on the viewing stands between 10:00 and noon each day.

Some grizzly bears are more active and splash around trying to catch salmon, however in the deep water this is often a waste of time. Bears need to pin the salmon against the bottom and them grab them with their mouth and in deep water this becomes a problem making their success rate very low. It is hard to build up the necessary layer of fat if you ate using more calories catching salmon than eating salmon.

The key to a successful fisher is to keep trying.  The first photo shows a close call for the salmon but to be sure bears do not stop and this fish did not escape. The time to fatten on the fish in the river around our viewing stands is limited from late August to late October so persistence is the key to a good hibernation.

The area behind the viewing stand that we use on the Glendale River is a traveling route for grizzly bears.  It is easier to walk the riverbed and possibly pick up the occasional salmon than through the thicker bush.  As can be seen by the vegetation on this bear’s coat it is using the river as a road rather than a fishing area. Also the size of this grizzlies belly it is a pretty good indication that it can catch salmon when it is hungry.