Tag Archives: Grizzly Bears
Grizzly being protective
For most of the summer (2014) this one cub of the triplets was a little “off”. Normally the cubs stay close to their mother for protection and comfort but the one cub was constantly lagging behind while walking the river, wander off while mom was fishing or just being that “kid in the mall” wanting to do its own thing.
Grizzly Triplets Waiting
Tie this photo in with yesterday’s post and the cubs are waiting for mom to return and catch them more salmon.
Grizzly Bear Salad Break
This photo was taken on the first day (August 25) in the viewing stands this summer (2014). This grizzly had been doing well catching salmon and feeding her cubs, that is “cubs” as she has triplets (see tomorrows post). But as many bears in the area she is taking a break and eating some grass along the riverbank. Not sure why a grizzly would give up the abundance of salmon for grass but would assume that a change is as good as a rest and the possibility that it might aid in digestion. This shows the fact that grizzlies will eat almost anything. They are omnivorous and will eat plants and other animals if available. What they eat depends on what kind of foods is available where they live and the particular season.
Large Male Grizzly
Unlike yesterday’s post there is no need to explain that this is a large grizzly bear. It just is!
Too Many Salmon
When a grizzly bear is more concerned about a small piece of salmon on its leg than the one slipping into the water it means it is not worried about catching another. The white shapes in the water around the bear are salmon. The past summer was very hot, the water level in the river low which caused low oxygen content in the water and a die off of several thousand salmon. For this reason the grizzlies knew they could easily catch salmon to eat. This lasted for several weeks until the rains came and fresh salmon moved up river.
River Grizzly Bear
The first half of the grizzly bear watching season occurs along the shores of Knight Inlet, the Glendale River estuary and up the river. There are eight to ten bears that are in this area all the time then some come for a time then move on to another area. This bear we encountered while on the river was one of those around for a short time. It was very cautious and constantly glancing our way unlike the “resident” bears, which tend to ignore the boats and people. Normally the only thing that will really make a bear leave suddenly is another larger bear.
One for the Road
We had been watching this mother catch, eat and share salmon with her cubs for about forty-five minutes. As this mother decided it was time to move on the one cub did not want to but a few growls and it grabbed the salmon it did not want to leave and started to follow. As first year cubs they do not stray to far from their mother even for food.
First Sighting of Grizzly Bears
For the first half of the season at Grizzly Bear Lodge our bear tours require us to use a skiff to view the grizzlies along the shore of Knight Inlet and in the Glendale River. As the tide starts to rise we move up the river to view the grizzlies grazing on sedge grass or digging up roots and as the salmon arrive they are in the river. The first sighting (picture above) of a bear is the most exciting and the guests start taking photos and do not seem to listen when the guide says their will be better opportunities later (picture below). As we move up the river we stay to one side and the bears are often just across the river, a river that is only 15 to 20 meters (yards) wide. The bears have accepted our presence and as long as we are quiet and make no sudden moves we are ignored.
Four Grizzly Bears?
If my memory serves me there are four grizzlies in this photo. They are Bella and her two cubs plus another sub-adult. Actually there were two sub-adult siblings that came to the Glendale River estuary and they played with Bella’s cubs. We (the guides) were not able to identify the siblings but thought they must be related to Bella or she would not have been so friendly or allowed them to play. In the spring (June and July) there are a number of bears that make the river estuary their home plus bears that are travelling through and may stay for a few days or weeks.
