The millions of hectares around B.C.'s Great Bear Lodge are rich with the big critters. Don't forget your camera
Judi Lees
Special to the Vancouver Sun

Look, look, another... big," echoes through the yellow school bus. Poor Piero, as a visitor to the wilds of British Columbia from northern Italy, he has just spotted a grizzly bear and is finding it tough to get the words out in English. The seven of us grizzly watching with him are just as astounded as we watch a huge grizzly clamber from the river to the shoreline, shaking itself and sniffing the air. Lured by the rank, nostril-tangy smell of rotting salmon, it doesn't give the yellow bus a nod but gets on with its lunch.

There is silence in the bus except for a few "ooohs" and "aaahs." I'm so enthralled with the scene as the bear noses through salmon on the shoreline, does a playful chase of some in the water and then picks one to chow down on, that I forget to take pictures. This is day two at Great Bear Lodge and so far this morning, we have spotted five grizzly, although this one, about 35 metres away, is the closest view we have had.

I've been intrigued by grizzly bears for years and this chance to see them in the wild is fulfilling my wish list. Living in coastal B.C., we occasionally see black bears, however their big cousins live farther north. Now we are in the Great Bear Rainforest, at 3.2 million hectares (eight million acres), it is the largest intact, unprotected coastal temperate rainforest left in the world. Renowned for its wild landscape where 1,000 year-old red cedars touch the sky, it is one of the few places in the world to view grizzlies. On this four-day stay at Great Bear Lodge, we spotted dozens of bears on our twice a day excursions. (The most we saw in one day was 16, the least was five.)

Our adventure was magical as soon as we lifted off in a float plane from Port Hardy on the northern edge of Vancouver Island. (This was where my husband and I met Piero and Monica Perucchini who came to Canada for their honeymoon.) Within minutes our pilot did a wing-down circle above two huge humpback whales and then, heading over land, we crossed a series of glacial inlets that made brilliant blue tongues in the vast, green landscape below. After 50 minutes we swooped into Smith Inlet to find Great Bear Grizzly Lodge floating in a serene corner; Tom Rivest and Margaret Leehane, smiled and waved from the deck.

Each year the return of tens of thousands of salmon to the Nekite River makes this a supreme grizzly bear spotting region. Tom, a wildlife biologist, has run Great Bear Nature Tours since 1999. He and Margaret, who own the lodge along with silent partners, had the eco-friendly accommodation barged from Vancouver Island, early in 2004. The five-bedroom lodge is wind and solar powered and has full facilities; each room has a bathroom and there are hot showers downstairs. As well as grizzly, there are black bears, wolves, river otters, black-tailed deer and bald eagles.

Here's our routine: at day break, fortified with coffee and healthy snacks we board a school bus. Yes, it is strange to be jostled along a wilderness route by bus. However, when I asked Tom about using the large, brightly coloured bus, he comments that he needed a safe, tough vehicle and the bears "simply become used to it and they know we won't harm them." We soon appreciate the roominess of it (there is a maximum of 10 guests at the lodge at once) as we even manage to set up tripods. Parked at a clearing that overlooks the rushing river and wide, gravel bars, we have a great view.

The first morning, Tom gives his bear talk. We stay in the bus or in one of the blinds that he has built, except for an occasional guided walk. The idea is to view but not to intrude. Should a bear approach, he puts himself between it and us. "I'll do the talking to the bear," he advises. Okay, we all nod. What would one say to a grizzly anyway? He asks that we avoid pointing at the bears and no flash is used when photographing.

On our debut as grizzly-sighters, we sat about 45 minutes. It was pleasant among the gnarly, moss-laden forest of hemlock and fir, with the sound of the rumbling river, the call of gulls and the splash of red salmon in shallow pools. Occasionally an eagle soars down for lunch, sending the gulls scattering. It was like being dropped down into Emily Carr's world.

However, we all wanted bears and so we sat, at the whim of the grizzly. Would they show? Then, "Running Bear" arrived and I had to control myself from hollering with surprise -- I had never pictured a massive grizzly bear head floating about 30 metres from my bus window! Tom names the bears by their behaviour patterns and Running Bear lived up to her name. She hit the gravel bar loping, charged into shallow waters, chased a few salmon, roared at the sea-gulls then settled in to gorge on salmon. A grizzly bear, that may weight over 390 kilograms (800 pounds), may consume up to 40,000 calories per day and gain as much as 2.7 kg (six pounds) daily in the fall when it is preparing to hibernate.

Within five minutes six other grizzly arrive. Running Bear charges them which is exciting to us, but they mostly ignore her and get on with their quest for food. Peering through binoculars at the river scene, we almost miss seeing the bear strutting toward the bus behind us. It seems intent on a close-up view but loses interest and heads for the river. We know, without a doubt, why we are ensconced in this vehicle.

The morning viewing sessions last a couple of hours, depending on the action, then it is back to the lodge for a full breakfast. There is time to hang out and enjoy the surroundings of towering mountains reflected in mirror-calm water, do some kayaking, or take a boat tour in the aluminum skiff to check the crab traps, enjoy lush islands and snaking waterways that cut through some estuary grasslands. On spring trips, it is in these sedge-rich grasslands that the grizzlies are viewed from the comfort of the boat. In fall, their diet is salmon.

Mid-afternoon, we head out for our afternoon session. Although the best viewing has been along the river gravel bar, the second day we head farther along the road and set up in a blind is tucked into the trees. It overlooks the confluence of the Piper and Nekite Rivers.

Talk about cooperative grizzly, as soon as we arrive two bears amble out of the bush. Tom says they are females, probably siblings, three or four years of age. Mama bear sends her young out on their own in their third summer. We spend 30 minutes in silence, watching and clicking shutters. They dig for salmon roe among the rocks, head into the river and swim to a shore closer to us and, at one time, have a little tussle over a salmon. It's the perfect grizzly nature film only we are in the picture. I feel fortunate to have experienced what Margaret describes as "the serendipity of the wilderness. You never know what you will see and that's what makes it special."

I try to remember this phrase the next day when we sit in the same spot with no action for just over an hour. ("Welcome to the world of the National Geographic photographer," I whisper to my husband.) We're here because I teased Tom, our host, that we hadn't seen any cubs yet. I'm starting to feel guilty -- perhaps we could be back at the gravel bar seeing many bears.

Just as we all begin to fidget, out of the woods comes Momma bear. She checks out the scene -- massive head in the air, sniffing and looking around. Does she sense us in the blind, I wonder, as we are over 75 metres (250 feet) away. If she knows, she doesn't care as she does a growl that beckons three chubby cubs.

We are enraptured as we watch them for the better part of an hour and notice the personalities of the three cubs. One is always behind and relies on his mother to toss him pieces of salmon occasionally. The other two tumble and cavort, chase swimming salmon but seldom catch them, and a bit of sibling rivalry takes places as they snarl and play tug of war with a dead fish. To me, they resemble pot belly pigs as they struggle along on their stubby legs. It's the real teddy bears' picnic.

While watching this family scene was a highlight, there were many "nature-in-your-face" experiences. As Tom led us on a short walk along the river, Freebie showed up on the opposite shoreline. So named because she is the one bear that tends to hang around the lodge. "She is a little lazy so looks for hand-outs. Even though she doesn't find anything, bears are creatures of habit so if I see a bear near the lodge, it is Freebie," says Tom who says that basically bears treat humans as they do each other. "They mostly ignore us." This is true with Freebie as she lumbers along the shoreline paying us little heed.

We had spotted Vincent, the old guy with part of one ear missing, and several times watched Predator that Tom says loves the chase -- she will run after deer or even jump into the water after merganser. One day Tom points out the Godmother. "She is very calm yet stands her ground, even with the largest males," describes Tom who saw his first grizzly bear in Alaska in 1985 and was hooked. He keeps notes on the 40 to 50 bear that live in this territory.

As well as the bears, we enjoyed the fact that during our four days, guests overlapped. We met people from Australia, Calgary, Victoria and Arizona as well as our Italian friends. We shared delicious meals -- like paella followed by a luscious lemon dessert -- watched bear videos and swapped adventure tales. If there is one small drawback to this vacation, it is the lack of exercise that is limited to guided walks. Tom, at all times, stresses safety of both his guests and the bears.

I was initially disappointed that our return trip to Vancouver Island was by water taxi as our arrival flight had been so spectacular. However, it turned out to be the perfect wrap-up. Lance McGill, our captain, was a wealth of information and along our picturesque, 19-nautical-mile route he spotted gray whales then zoomed us over to an island where huge Steller sea lions lolled about. For the piece de resistance, just as we approached Port Hardy, we were suddenly surrounded by more than 100 white-sided dolphins that were eye-level beside us as they dove and smiled. (Yes, dolphins do smile, trust me.) Along with our new-found Italian friends, we felt like applauding their performance.

As we said good-bye to Piero and Monica, I asked him what he thought of this time in nature we had shared. "It was a gift," was his reply and that pretty much sums it up.

Judi Lees is a freelance writer based on the Sunshine Coast.

TIPS FOR WHEN YOU GO:

Great Bear Nature Tours season is May through mid-October. You can arrive and depart on any chosen day. All tours include transportation from Port Hardy by either floatplane or boat, accommodation, meals with wine, optional activities, First Nations user fee for the area, rain gear and boots if required. For information or booking: 1-888-221-8212; www.greatbeartours.com

Plan to spend the night prior to departure in Port Hardy. We enjoyed the well-priced Dolphin House B&B in Coal Harbour.

A short drive from Port Hardy (they will pick up and deliver you from the ferry, airport or bus depot), it boasts fabulous art work as well as congenial hosts and a lovely home.

Source: Judi Lees

Ran with fact box "Tips for When You Go", which has been appended to the end of the story.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

© The Vancouver Sun 2005