Autumn 2009 Part 2

What a fat bear!


This year hasn't been a great year for bear-viewing probably because of the incredible huckleberry crop up here and the odd weather. In October, however, things began to pick up a little.

Here is a record of some more of your sightings.

October 8th

7.15am. Saw apple this morning on east side of Golf. She was eating clover and appeared extremely fat. She seemed a little more wary than normal and after a while moved off into the bush.

In the afternoon had a short glimpse of another smaller grizzly.

October 10th

7.30am. Apple was at Golf again. She moved up and down between there and the creek a little below, but seemed more wary than usual again. Then she moved back to the apple tree at Golf. She may be too fat to climb. To bring down the apples she just kind of reached forward with her huge belly and appeared as if she couldn't even stand up straight! Occasionally she grabbed the tree and shook it to bring down more apples. Then she begins to eat clover again. Fantastic viewing.

October 11th

Moose at 48. Very shy. That afternoon we watched Apple eating grass, clover and apples for more than an hour. Eventually she swam across the river and headed off downstream. Great display and some very happy guests.

October 14th

Just one dark silhouette of a bear today behind the car. Moved off into river.

October 15th

Amazing viewing just before lunch. We spotted Rapid Bear just south of the creek and then went ahead through the bushes and waited by the riverside. For more than three quarters of an hour we watched in absolute silence as he approached, stopping every few seconds to grab another salmon.

When he was about 100 feet away he saw us, sniffed and then carried on up the river. It was so quiet we could hear him crunching the fish in his mouth. Then as he drew parallel - now only only about 60 feet away - we resumed normal conversation so that we didn't surprise him at very close quarters. He moved up onto the bank, huffed a little and then moved off. At 2.00pm we saw him again - this time from the raft at almost exactly the same spot.

October 16th

Dawn at Sierra Charlie Gillian came across a bear on foot near dead fish corner. he ran off into the bushes with a lot of crashing.

October 19th

Watched a tall bear fishing at Hotel 485 for a while. He was tall and fairly thin, certainly compared to the others who seem to have had an amazing summer.

Then in the afternoon a cougar on the side of the river. Very rare sighting!

At 4.15pm a good viewing of a female sub-adult (watched her pee so definitely female). probably 2.5 years old. Saw her one more time before leaving.

Autumn 2009 Part 1

There's no denying that 2009 hasn't been a great bear-viewing season so far. Several factors seem to have combined to keep the grizzlies out of the valley and up in the high country.

We can only speculate but the single biggest factor seems to have been a record huckleberry crop - the largest that anyone in the area can remember. Lots and lots of sun and the right temperatures meant that the bushes were hanging heavy with huckleberries all the way into October.

Probably because of that the bears we have seen are mostly fat, sometimes extremely fat, and fairly lazy.

That said all our guests who have come in October have seen a grizzly bear (although one group of four only had a fleeting glance) and many of our guests have still had great viewing, although not in the same numbers they might have expected in other years.

The good news is that lots of berries and lots of fat bears should mean lots of cubs next year. If our inferences are right next year could be one of the best viewing years ever.

Unlike some of the larger viewing operations on the coasts our bears are totally wild and not habituated and so our numbers will always be far lower and less predictable. But that's what we think makes our holidays exciting.

Seeing a totally wild bear in a totally wild setting is a thrilling sensation.

Here is a partial record of bear sightings so far this autumn:

Sept 19th

Our first good viewing of the season. Apple, one of our favourite bears, just walking down the dirt track towards us. She kept coming until she was about 30 metres away and then disappeared into the bush. Half an hour later, around 7.45am, she emerged just north of Echo Creek and we watched her for around 30 minutes fishing and swimming. Eventually she crossed the road and headed back into the bushes.

Sept 20th

Grizzly on river, just above Echo Creek. When it saw us, it paused, sniffed and then moved into the bushes. After a few minutes it emerged again downstream. Appeared to be a young adult with a dark face fringed with blonde. Could be Twofish from last year?

Oct 1st

At 5.30pm Apple appeared at just north of Echo Creek 48. At first she was between our two 4x4s and seemed a little uncertain as to do what to do. Then she moved onto the river and began fishing. We headed downstream and stopped. Then she appeared int the distance and slowly began to approach us. She eventually came within about 15 metres of the car then walked up onto the road, turned her bottom towards us, did a large dump and headed off into the bushes.

Oct 4th

Mum with 2 cubs at Echo 48. Very wary. A brief sighting but nice to see the cubs.

Oct 6th

Saw mum with two cubs again. She was very coy. She crossed the road about 100 metres ahead of the car and then went into the bushes before emerging on the river. We watched for quite a while as it grew darker as she moved downriver with the cubs. Eventually they all swam across the river and disappeared.


More to follow.....