Tag Archives: grizzly

Grizzly bear watching in the spring is always made interesting because of the reaction of the cubs. Born in January of February the cubs are only five or six months old. When we first see these cubs in the end of May everything is new for them. We are their first interaction with boats and they are wary. Normally on their first encounter they leave the beach (and mother)) for the trees but the mother’s reaction is the teaching tool for the cubs. This is not new for the grizzly mothers so by the third encounter, as in this photo, the cubs still keep an eye on the boats but stay on the beach with mom.

The grizzly bear viewing platforms used by the lodge provide variety of viewing opportunities. The finger stand is located between the natural river and the entrance to the spawning channel. The grizzlies walk up and down the river using it as a path between various fishing spots.  They also move to the other side of the stands, which is the holding s area for the salmon, before they move on to spawn in the man made spawning beds. These two grizzly siblings are on the river side of the viewing platform but are keeping a close eye on a mother and cubs that just passed behind the stands to fish in the holding pool. Sub-adults are always careful of mothers with cubs and will stay back while they are in the area.

The grizzly bear viewing in October is from a platform on the Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. It is a large, raised; covered stand that overlooks the natural river as well as the entrance to the man made spawning channel. The view of this bear is on the riverside about seven meters (yards) below the railing of the platform. Grizzly bears frequently pass by the edge of the stands when moving from the river into the spawning channel entrance.

In bear identification 101 the black bear’s rump is higher than front shoulders and a grizzly bear’s rump is lower than shoulder hump. On a grizzly this hump is made of fat and muscle and helps the grizzlies to dig up roots and tear apart logs to find food. The angle of this photo and the pose of the bear make the hump very obvious. 

Late September on a grizzly bear tour from the lodge and we are in the first viewing platform overlooking the entrance to the spawning channel. A grizzly bear has just passed beneath the stand and is walking down the road toward the second or finger stand. We normally use the finger stand as it offers views of the natural river as well as the spawning channel entrance. Grizzlies frequently walk along the road when there are bears fishing in the channel entrance.

All three cubs are now awake and the tide is starting to rise. The mother grizzly bear starts up the beach to the mouth of the river and the flat land estuary, which provides for protection in the taller grass. The river estuary also has easier access to the surrounding forest with its tall trees if the cubs need to escape a large male bear. Yes grizzly cubs can climb trees while the large males cannot.

Yesterday’s post showed grizzly cubs sleeping in the sunshine on a warm rock. Mother was always close by but it took us a few minutes of watching her to locate the cubs. It was a rare time for the mother to be able to obtain a meal without being on high alert for the active cubs. That has now come to an end as one cub is up and starting to graze…..more tomorrow

The spring grizzly bear tours from Grizzly Bear Lodge travel up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River estuary is search of mother grizzlies and their cubs. They come out of hibernation in late March or April and bring their cubs to the beach and river estuaries in search of food. Turning over rocks in the inter-tidal zone for high protein food made up of crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. They also graze on the protein rich sedge grasses…..more tomorrow