30 September 2007

We don't see a lot of wolves at the ranch but every now and then one pops up. Two weeks ago John, one of our guests, thought he saw one from the yard as it made its way up the other side of the river. Then this. The photograph was taken by Andrea from Graz in Austria as she left the ranch in early September. Despite its colourings, it is definitely a grey wolf. Beautiful.

27 September 2007

Just as we thought the afternoon might come to nothing, we came across this guy. Despite his weight he had clambered right to the top of a mountain ash and was stripping off the fruit. At one stage a branch snapped and he fell a few feet but recovered. Once he had finished he walked almost up to our truck before casually strolling off down the path.

26 September 2007

On our early morning run we spotted a grizzly at one of our favorite viewing spots. He swam across the river and, after a while, disappeared into the bush. There are now loads of tracks on many of the sandbanks around the ranch. Otherwise it was a fairly quiet morning although Jakob followed the grizzlies we have dubbed "Apple" back to the old orchard in what appears to be her regular daily run.

In the afternoon we chanced upon a mum with three cubs - all huge. But she was spooked by our arrival and, after a few seconds hesitation, ordered her cubs into the bush with her. Then just as our old friend, the cinnamon black, emerged a local man arrived on an ATV with a barking dog and scared the bear away. On the way back we saw another grizzly on a sandbank in the moonlight, quite an unusual and beautiful sight.

25 September 2007

Another great morning for bear-viewing. A few miles north of the ranch we spotted our first bear swimming across the river in the early-morning light. We watched through binoculars as, seemingly unaware of us, he fished a little here and there. After about 10 minutes he disappeared into the bush at the other side.

Then, a few miles further, came one of our best sightings yet. An adult grizzly, totally unconcerned about the presence of our vehicles, moved backwards and forwards across the river, sometimes coming as close as 50 feet to us. (See the picture above.)

Jakob, a friend and wildlife photographer, later tracked the same bear up to an old apple orchard where she (he actually saw her urinate - probably the only reliable way of telling a male from a female grizzly at a distance) climbed in to an apple tree (whoever said grizzlies can't climb trees?) and shook down the apples before gorging on them.

In the afternoon we watched on a small creek as a mum and three large grizzly cubs (certainly two-year-olds and possibly three-year-olds) rummaged around in the bush before emerging to fish. They were shy and kept their distance but through the light foliage we got some great views of them and they were huge. As we left Deborah, one of our guests, saw a fifth grizzly in clearing and David saw a coyote on the road.

21 September 2007

Best day so far this season! After a slow morning we set out in the late afternoon. Auspiciously we had barely driven five minutes when a black bear crossed the road in front of us. Ten minutes later we spotted the grizzly, again in the river and moving slowly towards the bank. For the next 20 minutes or so we sat mesmerized as he slowly moved towards us down the river bank, fishing as he came. With the engines off and everybody silent the grizzly approached slowly, slowly until he was only a little over about 40 feet away. Then he smelled or heard something and turned and ran into the bush. Photographically this was our best opportunity of the season. Both Jean-Pierre and I clicked away while others took photos and watched through the binoculars. Quite simply an amazing sight.

Later in the afternoon we saw deer and a young male adult moose who we slowly followed up the road for a couple of miles before he disappeared off into the forest. Then on the way back Kristin saw a small black bear cub. We celebrated that night with a glass each of Moet.

20 September 2007

This morning we set out early and were in position by 6.20am. After a little over half an hour the cinnamon black we had seen previously emerged and began to eat. Almost simultaneously a grizzly sow appeared with two large cubs in tow- probably the same family we had seen before. We watched happily for an hour or so.

In the afternoon we had a stroke of luck. Jean-Pierre, who forthwith became known as "Eagle Eyes", spotted a grizzly in the river at several hundred feet. We watched with binoculars as he moved onto a sandbank and around the corner. Repositioning the truck we then watched for 15 or 20 minutes as he slowly made his way towards us, oblivious to our presence. It was too dark for good photos, but a magnificent sight. On the way back to the ranch, Gillian spotted another grizzly on a sandbank. At first it ignored her truck, then it abruptly stood up, wheeled around and left.

19 September 2007

In the morning we saw no bears, but then as we headed out in the afternoon with Emy, Craig, Chelle, Jean-Pierre, Annie, Lynne and Donald our luck began to change. Annie was in the first car when she spotted a grizzly mum with tow cubs down on the river bank. For a while they watched and Jean-Pierre took some nice photos with his long lens.

Later on we returned to the spot where we had seen the cinnamon black a few days and he did not disappoint. Although the light was a little low for good photography we discreetly watched him fishing for half an hour or so.

17 September 2007

With John, Joyce, Trevor, Louise, Andrea and Egon, we returned once again to a spot where the fish were thick. This time a beautiful cinnamon black bear came out. For quite a while I thought he was a grizzly - the colour was right, the place was right - but the profile was unmistakably a black bear. Great chance to take photos.

14 September 2007

Returning to the hangout where we had seen the grizzly mum and cubs the night before, we watched again as she appeared, this time a little earlier in the evening. We watched for about 10 minutes and took lots of photos. Eventually the mum moved just a little too close to the trucks and began to appear a little agitated so we pulled away.

13 September 2007

Saw a 2/3 year old black bear on the road this morning. I think he has been in the area for several days, as we have seen him before eating on grasses and insects living in rotten tree stumps. Just after 7pm, we also saw three grizzlies at one of our favourite local hangouts. We watched them for a while - the two cubs appeared to be large two-year-olds or possibly even three-year-olds. Then just as we were returning to the ranch - adding the icing to the cake - we watched a small black cub, probably a yearling, walk across the road in front of our trucks.