Tag Archives: Bears

These two juvenile grizzlies were tired of waiting so they thought that maybe if they had a fight is might attract the salmon? It seems that our guests did not care why the activity was changing just that it was changing and that it made for much better photo opportunities.

A second year grizzly bear cub’s preferences is to wait closer to our viewing platform and use a tree for a backrest. It leaves the catching to mom however it should get into the action as it is likely that it will have to be doing the catching next year. This is the learning year so maybe less sitting. Tomorrow boredom….

An adult grizzly bear on the river near our viewing platform waits patiently for the salmon to move up river within catching distance of her position. Patience is rewarded and she has a family to feed. However this is not always the case, tomorrow….

A mother grizzly bear with first year cubs will not take her cubs into the water to wait for salmon to arrive. Rather she will be content to graze on the sedge grass and once the salmon are in the river and easier to catch she will fish. While she fishes the cubs wait close by on the bank until the fish are brought to them.

It is late August and a grizzly bear and cub in Knight Inlet’s Glendale River wait for the tide to rise and bring in another school of salmon. The salmon school in the bay and with higher water they move up the river to the spawning areas. We are in our viewing boat also waiting for the salmon and the excitement of watching grizzlies fish.

I posted a photo on August 26th of a grizzly bear and a deer that were in knee deep water and said: The chance of a bear catching deer is so low it is not worth wasting the energy trying. As proof of that statement here is a grizzly and deer almost side-by-side on dry land and still the grizzly has no interest.

Where else would you rather be on a hot July day if you were wearing a fur coat. This behaviour is partially to cool down and also for the mother to get the cub to “like” the water. I have mentioned in other blog postings that cubs seem to have an aversion to getting wet but I have also seen mothers intentionally sit in the water to encourage their cubs.

Using the grizzly bear viewing stands after August 24th requires a short drive from the river estuary to the stands. On the drive we pass by the man-made spawning channel that contains thousands of salmon and many grizzly bears feeding. On this day a bear was standing on the road looking down into the channel to see if it was safe to continue down the bank to fish. It is a minor problem when grizzly bear viewing is delayed by grizzly bears.

Spring grizzly bears grazing on the sedge grass in the Glendale River estuary. This mother and cubs were frequent visitors to the estuary because of the protein rich grass and the good beach for rolling rocks for a different protein. Triplets are reasonably common and on occasion a mother with four cubs will pass through our viewing area. The reason the bear population is increasing is the number of births some of which are multiple births and with the abundance of food means most of the cubs survive. It is an interesting circle because when a pregnant bear hibernates if it is in good health (because of lots of food) the eggs are not absorbed and therefore more bears give birth and so on.