On the lodges grizzly bear tours we often view bears quite close. The viewing stands are located on a narrow road next to Knight Inlet’s Glendale River and after the grizzlies have eaten enough salmon they often pass beneath or very close to the viewing stand. This is the reason we are in an enclosed cage and the bears are free to roam.
Fall grizzly bear viewing from our lodge on Knight Inlet takes place on the Glendale River and a man made salmon spawning channel. There are two viewing platforms next to the part of the river the salmon use to pass over a weir into the spawning channel. The second stand we normally use has a deep pool on one side, the natural river on the other two sides leaving the forth for a narrow road. This grizzly, in the deep pool, has it’s eye on us in the stand maybe because we made to much noise or just out of curiosity. At this time of the year a grizzly bears prime concern is food namely pink salmon. Hibernation maybe a little more than two months away and this is the time to “bulk up” for the long winter. A bear without sufficient fat may not survive the winter and in the case of a female it may mean that she will absorb her “eggs” and not proceed with a pregnancy.
Luwen & Liwen from Singapore got a great picture of a grizzly bear on the Glendale River in Knight Inlet eating one of the favourite parts of a salmon it just caught: the eggs or roe. During the peak of the salmon run the bears have access to an abundance of salmon at that time they will eat only the parts highest in calories – the eggs, skin and brains. Salmon roe and skin are also high in fat; grizzlies will often discard the body of the fish, which is left for the eagles. Early is the salmon run the grizzly devour the whole fish to “bulk up” for the coming winter this is also true later in the season for those bears that have not achieved sufficient weight or fat to survive the winter.
Just when you think the grizzly bears you are viewing do not really know that you are there you get one that looks you right in the eye when caught taking a photo. To put a human touch it would be “A little privacy if you don’t mind.” The bears on the lodge’s tour up Knight Inlet tend to ignore our intrusion into their life. In the spring and summer, while they are feeding on the beach they only acknowledge our presence if we get to close. In the fall in the viewing stands on the Glendale River sudden movement, load noises or a cameras flash left on will get their attention. For the most part the grizzly is aware but chooses to ignore. Guest James O’Donoghue from the UK provided this photo.
The abundance of salmon in the Glendale River means the grizzly bears are not very aggressive and tend to be more tolerant of each other. This makes for a safer location for mothers to bring their cubs to learn to fish for salmon. The first photo provide by James O’Donoghue shows a mother leading her two cubs into the fishing area and by their size these cubs would be in their second summer with mom. It is time to learn to catch salmon as it could be their last year before they are on their own although some cubs do spend a third season with mom. If you check out the waters around the bears there are not many salmon in the river so it must be early in the season this means today’s lesson may be one in patience.
The morning grizzly bear viewing tour up Knight Inlet is always more memorable after an encounter with a Big grizzly. Guests like to compare the size of the bears they view on their day trips however a truly big grizzly bear will tend to keep other bears away until they have had a good feed. So maybe size is not a good thing. Is this one eating grass it is possible even though this picture was taken in September bears are still eating grass and berries along with salmon. Salmon along the BC coast and notably Knight Inlet arrive at the rivers in mid August and remain until late October.Bruce comments “Although prior to our visit we had read about the thousands of salmon that congregated up river at the end of “The Salmon Run”, the wall-to-wall density of the fish was an amazing sight.”Photos by Bruce & Carole Cripps 8-11
Just like that our season has come to an end. I would like to thank all of our wonderful guests and staff who made this year a huge success. I am happy to stay that all of our team is planning to return next season. We are actively taking bookings, with dates starting June 1 2025. Hope to see many of you next season.
The wildlife viewing this season was awesome. A couple highlights that come to mind was the shear number of salmon in our local rivers, as well as the abundance of Resident Orca. With salmon returns being so strong this year, we were happy to see bears in excellent condition. By the end of our season most of the bears had packed on a lot of weight and were getting very “picky” about what parts of the salmon they would eat. Hopefully this will translate into more cubs being born this winter. Another positive was the weather conditions. We had enough rain to keep our fire risks low and it made for some excellent wild berries. The bears took full advantage of this, with the berry season extending far past its normal conclusion. This did mean that we had to work hard to find bears during our summer season, (as they were often feeding on the berries deep into the forest), but moving forward it is excellent that they had such an abundant food supply. The Humpbacks also didn’t disappoint, with great numbers and a few new calves returning with their mothers to feed. After a slower year for resident Orca sightings, this season was one of the best that I can remember. In fact as Im writing this the A62 and A23’s are still being spotted in the area by dedicated biologists. Strong numbers of Chinook and Chum salmon are providing them with a steady food source. There are a lot of positive signs and we are hopeful that 2025 will be another great season.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We plan on having a new cedar front deck built in time for the 2025 season, as well as new ceilings and paint in parts of the lodge and rooms. Theres always projects on the go.
Felix, Julien, Ryan, Zack and Myself all look forward to welcoming guest in June. See everyone soon.
Angus Reid
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