This grizzly came to a point about 8 meters (26 feet) from the base of the viewing platform that overlooks the spawning channel on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The platform, which we use after August 24th, provides a view of the man-made spawning channel containing salmon. This is a favourite fishing location for the grizzlies on the lodge’s grizzly bear watching tours. That creates the problem for this bear as will be seen in tomorrow’s post….
Tag Archives: Grizzly Bears
Salmon?
There were some salmon working their way up river over the small falls and they were spotted by this grizzly. However by the time it got closer the salmon had mover up river but that did not stop this bear from watching this same area for over ten minutes before it moved on.
The salmon that got away
This grizzly was fishing in the pool next to the viewing stands, which we use in the fall. This salmon will not be going far, as the small pink part on the grizzly’s leg is part of its stomach. Often bears will eat the protein rich salmon eggs before the remainder of the salmon and in this case the white shapes in the water are salmon carcasses. This grizzly was not so much fishing as scooping up dead salmon from the bottom a method that conserves energy and puts calories to better use as fat.
Wildlife at Trapper’s 2 of 3
As this photo shows the rope is part of a pulley system used to cross the river to get to Trapper’s cabin. It is not a good idea to cross a river to confront a grizzly so we waited for about fifteen minutes while the bear worked its way along the shore. About 60 meters (200 feet) past the rope it swam across the river to our side so we got in the boat and crossed the river and took the fifteen minute walk to the cabin.
Anette and family visit 6 of 7
The first photo show two grizzlies approaching the stand from down river while the second has them looking for salmon from the river bank opposite or viewing site. Excellent pictures of grizzly bears that have learned to ignore us and get on with fattening for winter hibernation.
Anette and family visit 5 of 7
Anette’s comments continue: “The next day we went bear watching with Glenn and we saw about 15 grizzlies amongst those a cub that had got away from it’s mother (standing on its hind legs scouting). We’re sure it was reunited with the mother just 2 minutes after we lost sight….” September grizzly bear watching is on one of two platforms we use on Knight Inlets Glendale River. Our preferred stand has the natural river on one side where the cub is standing and the entrance to the spawning channel n the other. The second photo is of a grizzly that is directly below the platform maybe five meters away.
I hear you
It is not difficult to tell which grizzly bear is dominant in this situation. 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. So if they stay with their mother for two years this means they may spent two or three years together until a female becomes pregnant or if two males longer.
Knight Inlet Grizzly Bears
Your grizzly bear tour provides for many opportunities for great photos. In the fall the salmon are in BC’s coastal rivers and this is a smorgasbord for the bears. Some grizzly bears spend time looking for fish to eat while others just eat. Some ot these brown bears fish the deep water to pick up dead fish while others prefer fish live. Both of these are deep water bears. After a day viewing bears return to the lodge and maybe a “hot tub”. Photos byBruce & Carole Cripps 4-11
completed.
Grizzly Bear “Disagreements”
Grizzly Bears are a solitary animals. Mothers and cubs are together and sometimes siblings will stay together for a couple of years after they have been kicked out on their own. Other then this they are looking out for themselves. With the abundance of salmon in the rivers in the fall the Grizzlies learn to tolerate each other because they all have to eat. There are, however disputes over the prime fish areas. Generally these aren’t much more then a stare down and some growling, but they do occasionally end up in a bit of a scrap.
View from Grizzly Bear Platform 5 of 5
Date on photo 9/3/2015 11:05 AM Sorry that today’s and the last three posting “Date on photos” are not in time sequence but it makes for a better flow in blogging. But it was an excellent day grizzly bear watching and I quite counting the number of bears when I reached twenty. This is the back side of the stands that face the natural river and the area from which most of the bears arrive to fish near the platforms.
