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Our visit
to Telegraph Cove in September coincides with the tail end of the salmon run.
This is the period during which the grizzlies gorge themselves on salmon big
time in preparation for winter hibernation. Eat and sleep. I can get into that.
We set out
on a full day excursion to Knight Inlet to see if we can spot some bears. On
the way out we see humpback whales, hundreds of acrobatic Pacific white-sided
dolphins, and rhinoceros auklets. We start out in a regular motorised boat then
switch to a special flat-bottomed boat that is capable of making its way through
an estuary of the inlet at low tide. We potter about and see black bears and
grizzly bears alike.
The fish
are indolent or dead after their long and tiring journey that ends when they have
done their reproductive duties and laid the ground for the next generation. No
wonder they are pooped, with all that travelling and mating. The totally worn
out salmon float listlessly with the current and are easy pickings for the
bears. All the bears have to do is reach out and grab a meal at their leisure.
The bears
have been feasting and they are full, fat and satisfied. Some of them have such
a surplus of energy that they spend time playing – adults, subadults and cubs
alike. We see a black bear and her cubs frolicking and cavorting in the shallow
water, raising big and noisy splashes, seemingly just for the fun of it. We see
grizzly sows munching on salmon while their cubs play at wrestling. We spot two
grizzly sows with four (!) cubs each and others with two or three cubs. Their
fecundity is a sure sign that there have been fish aplenty.
We move
upwards into the estuary. The passage is like gliding through a mangrove. It is
very still except for the caw-caw of crows and the occasional screech of an
eagle. We see more grizzlies and their cubs. An adult lies on her back in the
shallow water, all four paws up in the air, holding onto a fish and chomping
her way through it with half-closed eyes. We can almost hear her smacking her
lips. We imagine her pleasure.
Altogether
we see 31 grizzly bears of various ages, a black bear with cubs, bald eagles,
Canada geese, crows, gulls, thousands of dead and half-dead salmon and a wolf
footprint. Our funny, friendly and knowledgable guides from Tide Rip Tours point out interesting
plants such as the anti-coagulant flower yarrow and the wispy Methuselah’s Beard
– the longest lichen in the world.
This lichen
thrives best in old growth forests with lots of clean, fresh air, so it is
threatened by logging. Logging does takes place here, but the logs are sent all the way to China where they are
treated in Chinese factories – with Canadian equipment. And then, I suppose,
imported back to Canada. How crazy is that?
