… to another viewing area overlooking the salmon ladder. I known the guests were not happy about the move as it seemed we were never going to get good pictures of a grizzly. But the waiting in the new location had its advantages. We were about 20 meters (yards) above the salmon ladder when…
Tag Archives: Bears
Extra Day on the River 2 of 5
.. this mother grizzly bear with here first year cub appeared about one hundred meters (yards) down river. With a signal from Rick we were moved…
Grizzly Bear Comfort Zone 7 of 20
Grizzly bears like people have a comfort zone and if you move into that zone they let you know. First you get the “look” which may be followed with what appears to be a yawn. If you do not withdraw you might hear a clicking of teeth. As guides we have the “Leave them the way you find them rule.” We want to be able to return day after day to view bears and having them leave the beach is not good.
Another Source of Protein 6 of 20
Also along the shore are two more sub-adult grizzlies siblings. These siblings will stay together for four or five years. If one is female they will separate when she first comes into season. This two bears are working on another source of protein – mussels. As the photo shows the grizzlies use their claws to scarp the mussels off the rocks and eat them with the shells. When the tide is higher they have to be content grazing on the sedge grass.
Grizzly Cub Watching? 5 of 20
Grizzly bear cubs are much more curious than their mothers. This cub has noticed our boat even though we try to be quite the boat is made of aluminium and can be noisy. Mother is food orientated and has been in the estuary a number of years to know we are not a threat. Her and the cubs only threat is the male grizzlies and they come from the tree line and not the water.
First Year Grizzly Bear Cubs 4 of 20
The advantage of the spring tours are the first year cubs. Grizzly bear cubs are born in the den in January or February so these cubs on the beach are five months old. They change quickly from he cuddly “teddy bears” to miniatures of their mother. Although still nursing they are also eating solid foods and rely on their mother to turn over he larger rocks.
Grizzly Searching for Protein 3 of 20
Peder, Ann and family’s day with the grizzly bears requires an hour and fifteen minute boat ride up Knight Inlet to Glendale Cove. On the way we look for black bears, bald eagles and on occasion encounter humpback whales, killer whales or pacific whit-sided dolphins. Once we arrive in the river estuary we tie to a dock and transfer into a 5.5 meter (18 ft.) flat bottom skiff that permits us to move quietly along the shore and up the river as the tide rises. In July the bears forage the beach turning over rocks looking for “protein”. As tomorrow’s post shows grizzlies often have company…
First Evening Black Bear Tour 2 of 20
Arrival at the lodge: First is the assignment of room. Second snacks on the front deck made up of cheese and crackers; fresh prawns or dungeness crab; and drinks: coffee, tea, water or pop. While this is being consumed Angus will give a talk about the lodge and explain your itinerary. Third you are fitted with floater suites / survival suites which are designed to keep you warm and dry but hopefully never needed to keep you afloat. The boys in the boat are wearing these suites on the first evening black bear tour. This orientation trip to look for black bears, seals, bald eagles etc. depends on the tide. To find bears on the beach we need a beach thus the low tide requirement and because of this the trip may be before or after dinner. The boats are limited to four guests so this is a more personal tour than other lodges provide. Also there are normally on eight guest in the lodge.
Estuary grizzly bear watching 2 of 2
When the tide is lower and the grizzly bears move out into the shallow river to look for salmon the grizzly bear watching tour gets much better. It is hard to catch salmon in a wide shallow river but it makes for good watching as they stand to observe and then run about trying to catch salmon.
Estuary grizzly bear watching 1 of 2
From late May until August 24th our grizzly bear watching is in Knight Inlet and the Glendale River estuary. We travel the hour and fifteen minutes up the inlet from Grizzly Bear Lodge where we transfer to a large flat bottom skiff to view the bears. The skiff has a very shallow draft that allows us to move up the river as the tide rises and come quite close to the grizzlies as they graze on the protein rich sedge grass. On the day of this photo the tide was reasonable high when we arrived so we were able to get a good view of the grizzlies grazing but as the tide started to drop and we came out of the river the viewing got better. See tomorrow’s post…
