Tag Archives: Grizzly Bears
Spring Grizzly Bears
Grizzly bear viewing in the spring from Grizzly Bear Lodge occurs in the mouth of the Glendale River. This river estuary is located an hour and fifteen minute boat ride from the lodge on Minstrel Island. The spring grizzlies are in this area for the protein rich sedge grass and the abundance of protein obtained from turning over rocks on the beach at low tide. Viewing takes place from a sixteen foot skiff, which allows us good viewing in the shallow waters along the shore and in the Glendale River.
Grizzly Bear Siblings Travel Together
It is common to see sub-adult grizzly siblings together on the Grizzly Bear Lodge’s bear tours. Depending on food abundance, mother grizzlies may keep their yearlings a second (even a third) year, denning together again and breaking up in the third (or fourth) year. Alone and vulnerable, siblings will often stay together for some time after their mother abandons them, eating and sleeping side-by-side, and even denning together. The average breeding age for female grizzlies is 4.5 years. Males reach sexual maturity at roughly the same age as their female counterparts. Even though males are capable of breeding at three or four years of age, they rarely have the opportunity to do so because of intense competition from older, bigger males. These two bears spent most of the summer in the area of the Glendale River.
Grizzly cubs with mom
Grizzly bear cubs are still a challenge even when they are two years old. In this case mother is in the background while the cubs play fight in the foreground. It is not always a spectator sport as allot of the time the mother grizzly is in the middle of the fight with the cubs, that is how they learn. Some days in the spring on the river it seems that the bears spend more time fighting than searching for and eating food.
Grizzly Bear cubs with mom
A mother grizzly is never far away from her cubs as the leg in the top left corner of this picture shows. Triplets are always a challenge and these first year cubs spent this summer keeping their mother on the run. But whenever there was another bear in the area the cubs immediately returned to mom to make sure all is ok. Grizzlies with cubs are common in the viewing area used by Grizzly Bear Lodge. We are more likely to see mother grizzlies with twins, triplets and this year quadruplets than we are a bear with one cub.
Sharing the river with a grizzly bear
Spring and early summer grizzly bear tours from Grizzly Bear Lodge take place in Knight Inlet’s Glendale River estuary. This is a one hour and fifteen minute boat ride and then a transfer to a large skiff, which allows us to go into the shallow river to view the grizzlies. It is like a scene from the old movie “African Queen” with your guide in waders pulling the skiff up the river and often finding a grizzly walking along the river. If the river is wide we pull to one side to allow the bear to pass if it is narrow we back down the river either way there is opportunity for great photos.
Protective Mother Grizzly
As soon grizzly cubs sense any kind of danger they run to mother for protection. In the spring cubs are appear along the shore of Knight Inlet in late May and we are able to watch their growth through to October prior to the closing of Grizzly Bear Lodge in mid-month. This photo was taken in September from the viewing stands as the mother grizzly watched a second mother with two-year-old cub’s approach the salmon fishing area. All ended well and they all continued to catch and eat fish.
Grizzly Bears under the Viewing Platform
Grizzly Bear Lodge has the right to use a viewing platform on the Knight Inlet’s Glendale River after August 24th. This is a large, raised; covered stand that overlooks the natural river as well as the entrance to the man made spawning channel. This grizzly bear is on the causeway approaching the platform and is approximately five meters (yards) from of the platform. Grizzly bears frequently pass by and beneath the stand when moving from the river into the spawning channel entrance.
Spring Grizzly Bears in the Estuary
Spring grizzly bear viewing from Grizzly Bear Lodge takes place in Glendale Cove a one hour and fifteen minute boat ride up Knight Inlet. The bears spend their day eating the sedge grass in the river estuary and along the shore of the cove. When not eating the grass they are on the beach turning over rock is search of food in this inter-tidal zone. The “food” is high in protein and is made up of crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates.
Fattening for the winter
