Tag Archives: Grizzly Bears

When we have our fall grizzly bear tours to the viewing stands on Knight Inlet’s salmon river it is to view the grizzlies catching and eating salmon. In this photo are two sub-adult sibling grizzly bears. At this age there is no longer the rivalry that occurred when they were with their mother. They are now able to catch their own food and do not share. As cubs it was the mother grizzly’s responsibility to ensure enough food was provided to fatten the family to survive the winter now the former cubs are on their own.

This photo was taken on August 23rd just two days before our grizzly bear tours are permitted to use the viewing stands on the Glendale River. This grizzly was in the river’s estuary and the guests were in the large skiff used to move up and down the river. The bear was approaching the river and eventually swam across to follow the salmon up river. The grass is at least a meter (three feet) high so this is not a small bear and the stare from the bear means we were within its comfort zone so we drifted down river to let it pass.

In human terms we would like to think that this photo shows a love bond between mother and cub although this may be true in this case the cub wanted to nurse. Grizzly cubs generally stay with their mother for two years; some will stay for three or four if she does not become pregnant in the fall of their second year. Grizzly bear are extremely good mothers, and, consistent with the high level of “investment” they make in their cubs to ensure their survival, they are very protective of them. Because of this, encountering a grizzly bear with young can be very dangerous. During the first two years of their lives, the sow will teach her cubs everything they need to know to survive on their own. She will school them in finding and exploiting different food sources, and the cubs spend significant time observing her actions and learning them for themselves.

The grizzly bear viewing is not always about grizzlies fishing and eating salmon to fatten for the winter denning. While that is true for the adult bears the cubs in this case two year old cubs are like teenagers and much time is spent in play. Climbing the log jumble gym gives mom time to catch a meal that she can eat without having to share. It seems to work for this family as the photo was taken in late September and all appear to have a healthy layer of fat.

Grizzly bear watchers from the viewing stands on the Glendale River often see a number of bears together in a small area. The abundance of easily caught salmon means that it is not necessary to fight for the best fishing hole. The grizzlies are more tolerant of each other as this photo shows to different mothers with their cubs sharing the same set of rapids. They may keep as eye on each other but rarely are protective of their “spot”.

Grizzly bear tours in the fall, after August 24th, use the viewing platforms on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. This is an hour and quarter boat ride from the lodge and then a fifteen-minute van ride along the river to the viewing area. The platforms are located near the entrance to a man-made spawning channel that has a holding area for the salmon before they enter the channel. This holding area is the main attractions for the grizzly bears because of the abundance of easily caught salmon. In this case the grizzly decided to just sit and wait to see what might swim by to provide the next meal. Not all fishing grizzlies are aggressive or action bears.

The grizzly bear trips from the lodge travel up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River estuary. The bears come to this area in the spring because of the protein rich sedge grass, which keeps them going until the salmon arrive in late August. The grazing rights are shared with British Columbia’s black tailed deer. The upper beach along the shore of the river estuary is more or less rock free which gives the deer an advantage for a quick escape. The grizzly have come to accept their grazing partners and realize the chance of catching a deer is not worth the calories wasted.