Tag Archives: grizzly

Grizzly Bear Salad Break

Grizzly Bear Grazing

 

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.

 

 

Too Many Salmon

Grizzly with 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

Shore walker grizzly

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

Grizzly cubs with salmon

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

Grizzly bear in river estuary

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.

Grizzly bear family on river

 

 

 

 

Four Grizzly Bears?

How many grizzlies

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.

 

 

Who Eats This Salmon

Grizzly cubs salmon over fight

The mother caught the salmon now the fight is to determine the eater. This family was just below the viewing platform we use after August 24th. The water is about one meter (three ft.) deep which is ok for the mother but once the cub has the salmon it is necessary to get to shore to eat. So the family fight is to retain the salmon and to make it to the nearest shore about five meters (yards) away. The good news is that there is an abundance of salmon so everyone will get their fill.

 

 

Estuary Grizzly Bears

River Grizzly Bears

Prior to August 25th grizzly bear watching from our lodge occurs in the Glendale River bay and estuary. We travel one hour and fifteen minutes by boat up Knight Inlet to the river. At the river we transfer to a 5.5 meter (yard) flat bottom skiff. The shallow draft of the skiff allows us the move closely along the shore and to go up the river as the tide rises. The grizzlies have accepted our presence allowing us to get close enough for good photos. No this photo was not taken with a “large” zoom lens rather my small Pentax Optio 6 mp 3X Optical Zoom point-and-shoot camera which is waterproof. The waterproof is important because I am in the water pulling the boat up the river. The conclusion to make is that we were close to these grizzly bears.

 

 

Just One More

one more salmon

This past summer there was an abundance of salmon and as the previous post suggests many were allowed to drift down stream to the less fortunate. The other factor in salmon selection by the grizzlies is that they will often discard the male salmon (no eggs) but they still have other fatty parts. Several of the bears around the viewing stands did not waste energy chasing salmon rather they sat on the shore and eat those drifting by or in this case piling up on the bank. In this photo the mother had eaten her full and was heading for a rest while her two-year-old want another.