Each year, around mid September, the Grizzly Bears along the western coast of British Columbia start fattening up on salmon. As described in a previous post, in 2022 we witnessed these grizzly bears feasting on the salmon that were attempting to make their way up the rivers that feed into the Bute Inlet. Like the salmon, we decided to return again this year.
Changes in weather conditions and the flow of the rivers can have a significant impact on the salmon. As such, the bear’s behaviors can also be very different. On the first day, rainfall had the rivers running very strong … leaving only one intrepid and determined bear working hard to pull salmon out of the river. With fewer guests and only one bear, our guides helped us get some great ground level views. As you can see the images below, it made for some great action shots. On the second day, the rivers had slowed down and many more bears were picking through the salmon that lay on the shore of the river. A wonderful feast of salmon brains, a bear favorite. With the bears sometimes being no more than 20 feet away, the sound of them crushing the salmon skulls echoed in our ears.
Really love #2471!
Thanks Gary