Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Whilst Nic was eager to avoid encountering a bear when he was out in training for his half marathon in October, we were both quite keen on finding a few to watch in a more controlled environment.

We had seen black bears when we were in Whistler, back in 2013, but we rather liked the idea of the tour here, that takes you out on a boat to watch them as they comb the shoreline at low tide.

Black Bears in Tofino

Of course, low tide also means early morning, so this was the start of what was to become a worrying pattern over the next few weeks, of far too many alarms set for a time that I would generally expect to be fast asleep.

But we managed to drag ourselves out of bed, grateful at least, for the fact that the Remote Passages tour company was only a few minutes stumble along the road!

Black Bears in Tofino

We were soon kitted out with our waterproof gear, and then we were off into the zodiac. Mind you, whilst this was a zodiac, after being used to perching on the edge of a small zodiac in the Arctic and Antarctic, this big one with actual seats, felt like a luxury option.

We set off across the water at a brisk pace, a little concerned about how misty it was, and so whether we would be able to see any bears at all.

Black Bears in Tofino

Thankfully, whilst it stayed rather dull and dreary, the worst of the mist cleared away, and so visibility at least wasn’t going to be a problem. The next question was would we find any bears?

After around 45 minutes, we reached the area where we were hoping to spot some bears. Sure enough, we soon spotted a couple foraging on the shoreline, though sadly they only stuck around for a few moments before disappearing into the trees.

Black Bears in Tofino

It wasn’t long though until we found two more bears, and this time they were completely unperturbed by our presence, and we were able to watch them search along the water edge for goodies like barnacles, clams and other creatures. It was fascinating to watch them roll over the rocks to see if there were any tasty morsels hiding underneath.

Some of the rocks they moved were big too. Unfortunately, the best series of photos that I have of this are pretty rubbish, because there was that one person in the boat who somehow managed to constantly get into my frame, which took the focus out, but I’ve included them anyway, as you get the idea.

 

 

Seals, Tofino

After a while watching these two, we set off in search of others. We stopped briefly at a rock that had seals hauled out on it, and again to check out a bald eagle, but the destination was a nearby cove where a mum and cub had been spotted by one of the other boats.

However, by the time we got there, they had gone, probably due to the appearance of a big male bear, just along the beach.

Bald eagle, Tofino

Male bears have a tendency to kill cubs, as the mothers won’t mate all the while they are looking after an infant, so when mum reappeared, she was on her own, probably having left her cub safely up a tree somewhere close by.

We watched these two for a while, and then, as we were getting close to the end of our time, set off to see if there were any others around elsewhere. We hadn’t yet found any more, when we heard that the cub had been seen again. Unfortunately, though we got there quickly, we arrived just in time to see them disappear into the woods. Clearly this wasn’t our day for seeing more than a fleeting glimpse of a cub.

Black Bears in Tofino

But then, we had just started to drive away from the shore, cameras all being put safely into their cases to keep them dry, when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement from the treeline. The mum and cub were back. I told our guide, and he quickly turned us back around, and then slowly, so as not to scare them off again, we edged closer.

Third time lucky; we got to see the cub properly. The male was now far enough away that mum was content to bring the cub down to the shore to search for food with her. We got to spend a while with them before it really was time to go back.

So, all together we saw seven bears, which we were pretty happy with, especially having finally seen that cute little cub.

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Black Bears in Tofino

Whistler - seaplanes, mountains and black bears (Throwback post)

While in Vancouver we decided to take a trip out to Whistler.  We had no plans to ski, both of us being fairly certain that if we ever put on a pair of skis we will more than likely come away with at least one broken bone, but we thought it would be nice to visit and we could try to do some bear watching.

We had heard a lot about the Rocky Mountaineer trains and so decided to splash out on that.  A day trip on the train gave very little time there, and even adding an overnight stop left time limited, so we opted for getting a sea plane there, and the train back the next day.

The sea plane was a good choice.  As well as the novelty factor of taking off from and landing on the water, it gave us some lovely views out over Vancouver and the Rockies.  The lake we landed on at Whistler was so still that it perfectly reflected the mountains around it and looked stunning.

After dropping our bags at the hotel, we took the Whistler MountainVillage Gondola, watching the BMX mountain biking going on below us, and then the peak-to-peak across to Blackcomb Mountain.

At the top we spent a little while watching the snow boarding competition, that for some reason required the competitors to dress up in silly costumes, and then headed to back to the cafe at the top of Whistler Mountain for some hot chocolate with rum while we enjoyed the views.

~Back at the bottom, we had time for a quick meal in the highly recommended Irish bar, before meeting our guide for the bear watching.  Whistler is home to black bears, and there is a good chance that if you are here for a while, you may just come across one while you are out walking or driving around.  With only the one day, our chances of a lucky find were limited, so we chose to do a tour.

When we pick our tours, we always try to use a company that knows and respects the animals, even though that often means that they won't get you quite as close as some others do.  We used Blackcomb Whistler Bear Viewing Tours, and our guide, Michael Allen, certainly knew his bears.  Having been interested in them all of his life, he regularly gives lectures on black bears as well as advising on their conservation.

The bears often graze on the lower slopes of the mountains, where there is plentiful green grass.  We soon found our first bear, but it was high up on a slope that we couldn't get anywhere close to, so we could only watch from quite a distance.  Our guide thought that this was a female that he knew had a young cub, so he was concerned to see her on her own. 

If the cub had died, it may have been at the large paws of our next sighting.  This was a huge male that was new to the area, and was happily grazing near to a couple of deer.  Female black bears mate only every other season.  Their cubs stay with them for almost two years, which means that they are not ready to mate again the next year.  However if the cub is killed, the mother will mate, so males sometimes try to kill them.

If they are aware of the danger in time, a mother will  send her cub high up into a tree, where it can be relatively safe, knowing that the small branches would not support the weight of the much larger male should he try to follow.  Sadly, with no sight of the cub in the trees nearby, it seems like the cub may have been killed.

One of the best places to find bears is grazing on their favourite clover in the middle of the 2002 Olympic luge track.  Sure enough there was a young male enjoying his fill.  We also found a large male rooting around in a field close to some of the huge holiday homes of some of Whistlers wealthiest part time residents.

Our favourite sighting though had to be Olivia and her two cubs.  The three of them were happily grazing along an embankment at the side of the road, and whilst very aware of our presence, they were content to amble along as long as we stayed a reasonable distance behind them.

Overall, a quite successful trip out.