Photo time 8/25/2015 10:58 Most guests do not come to see the salmon in the coastal river of British Columbia rivers even though it is impressive. They come to see what comes to eat the salmon…
Tag Archives: salmon
Peek-A-Boo Grizzly Bear Waiting for Salmon
This particular Grizzly Bear was seen on our river trip and utilized the same spot for several weeks. He was almost always there, although at times partially obscured by the large rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. This spot was, however productive as the Grizzly would wait for salmon to leap the small falls and intercept them before they make it to the top and to the safety of the deeper water. Patience is a virtue
Salmon Everywhere 2 of 2
The abundance of salmon does not always mean “food”. Not all fishers are created equal. Some grizzlies have the technique and are able to catch salmon with little effort while others need more time. The plus being that there are sufficient salmon that even the poor fishers are able to catch enough to fatten for hibernation and after all that is what matters on the “technique”.
Salmon Everywhere 1 of 2
The reason we have excellent grizzly bear viewing is the abundance of salmon. We travel up Knight Inlet to the area of the Glendale River, which is known for its salmon that come to spawn in the fall. In the spring and early summer we view the resident grizzly bears that eat the sedge grass in the spring and roll rock for the protein found beneath. And always they are waiting for the arrival of the salmon in August. Once the salmon arrive grizzlies come from the surrounding area to enjoy the abundance of food.
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 Struggles of the Pacific Salmon
Salmon are the lifeblood of our coastal ecosystem. Their journey back to their home rivers to spawn is often not an easy one. The salmon return to the same river which they were born years prior. How they know where they are going remains one of life’s great mysteries. The lucky few return, spawn and then all pacific salmon die after spawning, providing nutrients to the river and forest. This is a coho salmon leaping over the falls on the wild river trip.
Bald Eagle with a Pink Salmon
The Grizzly Bears aren’t the only ones who enjoy the abundant salmon run. Birds such as eagles, Great Blue Herons, Gulls, Kingfishers and Mergansers are often seen in the river areas. What isn’t eaten by the animals is flushed into the estuary, providing food for other marine creatures such as crabs, sculpins, cod and Halibut. Finally the rotten fish is distributed into the forest by Bears and other animals providing natural fertilization to the forest floor. These wild salmon truly are the backbone of our coastal ecosystem.
Viewing Platform 2 of 5
The everyday view from the viewing platform is salmon. These salmon are waiting to enter the spawning channel that is located approximately one hundred meters (yards) to the right of the picture in the previous posting. We drive along the edge of the spawning channel on the way to the platforms and normally see six or eight grizzly bears before we start our bear watching morning. The salmon are the reason you are our guests because without the salmon there would be no photo for tomorrow’s posting.
The Reason To Be?
This photo was taken from the viewing platform on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The grizzly bear tours from Grizzly Bear Lodge use the platforms after August 24th on our tours. The abundance of salmon is “the reason” the grizzly bears come to the Glendale River, the reason we go to the Glendale River, the reason we have guests visiting our lodge and likely the reason that you are reading this post to learn about Grizzly Bear Lodge. I have been guiding at the lodge for fourteen years so come and join our family (staff) I am sure you will enjoy yourself.
Killer Whales 2 of 2
To explain this photo. The odd shape is because the lower left corner is the edge of a white boat. I am the figure over the edge of the boat taking a picture of the salmon. There is not much to show perspective but this salmon would likely weight close to 12 kilo (twenty-five pounds). This is a good size spring salmon and the orcas favourite food. We remained drifting in this area for about twenty minutes with orcas around the boat and the salmon beneath coming out on occasion but staying close to the boat. If I had a net we would have had fresh salmon for supper but the guest agreed we were sanctuary and netting would not be fair.
