Tag Archives: grizzly

Spring Grizzly Bear Grazing

Grizzly bear grazing“Bears are omnivores that have relatively unspecialized digestive systems similar to those of carnivores. The primary difference is that bears have an elongated digestive tract, an adaptation that allows bears more efficient digestion of vegetation than other carnivores (Herrero 1985). Unlike ruminants, bears do not have a cecum and can only poorly digest the structural components of plants (Mealey 1975). To compensate for inefficient digestion of cellulose, bears maximize the quality of vegetal food items ingested, typically foraging for plants in phenological stages of highest nutrient availability and digestibility (Herrero 1985).” From Yellowstone
National Park website. Its fun to quote sites that give scientific facts for: – grizzlies eat anything and in the spring sedge grass is consumed in great amounts because they are not cows and have a hard time digesting the high protein sedge grass. But it is still strange seeing such a large animal with a fierce reputation eating grass.

 

 

Evening Black Bear Tour 2 0f 2

black bear tourYes this is an evening black bear tour and this is a mother grizzly bear with two first year cubs. This bear spent most of the summer in an area that was less then a twenty minute boat ride from the lodge. Some mornings she was observed on the way to the whales and other evening on a black bear tour. This evening we followed them along the shore for close to an hour which extended our evening tour so we got back just before dark. Our lodge does not have a tight schedule requiring us to be back at the lodge at a set time so if we find something worth watching, we watch.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Waiting

Grizzly Bear Fishing

The splash in the lower right corner of this photo has the grizzlies full attention. The splash is from a school of salmon moving up river and this means it is lunchtime. The grizzly is waiting in a deep pool for the salmon to cross over a shallow bar. In most cases the grizzly would be in the shallow water as it is easier to catch the salmon but not all bears are created equal and this bear soon learned that deep water is not the best place to wait.

 

Grizzly Bear Tour Seasons

Grizzlt in Glendale Estuary

The grizzly bears tours from our lodge have one important date and that is August 24th.  After to the 24th we are permitted to travel up the Glendale River valley and use the viewing platforms, which overlook the manmade spawning channel (October 24th posting an example). Prior to the 24th we use a 5.5 meter (yard) skiff to view grizzlies in the river estuary and along the banks of the river (October 23rd posting an example). Today’s post could be from either viewing time because going up to the viewing platform does not mean that we abandoned a tour up the river, if time permits.

 

Grizzly bear at the gate

Grizzly wanting INThe viewing stands Grizzly Bear Lodge uses in the fall are located on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The stands are large enough to accommodate twelve guests but we only take a maximum of five per tour. The approach ramp to the to the viewing platform is a gated steel cage for a reason. The reason is the subadult bear (that equates to teenage human male) who are curious and like to investigate their surroundings. If this were a zoo we would be the ones in a cage.

 

Grizzly on Whale Watching Tour

Grizzly on Tour

The grizzly bear population of Knight Inlet is healthy and growing. Over the past five years the number of sightings in the lower portion of the inlet near our lodge has increased. This past summer a grizzly visited our island for about a week before it moved on down the inlet. This photo was taken coming back from a whale watching day when we found a grizzly swimming between islands. It was working its way to Johnstone Strait, which separated the mainland from Vancouver Island that now has a small population of grizzlies. Historically there have never been grizzly bears on the Island but that changed six years ago when the first bear appeared near Kelsey Bay and more have arrived every year.

 

 

Grizzly Family Time

Grizzly bear family

Most grizzlies’ first year cubs prefer not to be in the water. When they first come to the beach in the spring and are required to swim along some to the steep bank beaches the mother are forced to abandoned them to force them into the water. After August 24th the viewing activity moves up the river after the salmon arrive. In this photo the cub made it to the rock near the fishing hole but choose a dry perch. As long as mom came by to check on a regular basis all was good.

 

 

Hungry Grizzly Bears

Young grizzlies feeding

Unlike the grizzly bear in the October 4th posting these bears are eating everything. There are two reason for their hunger: first the photo was taken in late August so the salmon have just arrived and second these juvenile bears are not the most experienced fisher so they eat everything they catch. Give these bear a few years and some experience and they will become more selective.

 

 

Selective Feeding

Grizzly bear Eating

Depending on the time of the year grizzlies have selective eating habits.  When the salmon first appear in the coastal rivers any salmon and all of the salmon is eaten. This also applies near the end of the salmon run if the grizzly bears have not gained enough weight for hibernation. In between these two times the bear can be “fussy”. It starts with rejecting the male salmon because they do not have the fat rich roe (eggs). The popular body parts are the brain, skin with its layer of fat beneath and the roe. Often the remainder of the salmon is left on the riverbank for a less selective bear or for scavengers such as seagulls, crows, ravens, bald eagles, and pine martin. This grizzly as one can see by its size has reached the “roe only” stage of eating salmon.

 

 

Berry Picking Grizzly

Spring grizzly

It is a little later in the season with different bears than the ones in Oct. 1st posting but still in the river estuary. This mother and cub have just come out of the salmon berry patch behind the three alder trees. Mom is back to grazing however the cub is cautious as this is only the second time this family has appeared along the shore. The Glendale River mouth has a constant spring population of four to six grizzlies that appear most days and added to that is a roaming population that appears for a week and then moves on to be replaced by a different family. Nature arranged it this way so the guides have some new bears and are never sure what each day will bring.