2008 Bear Viewing Tours
For those that are interested in seeing magnificent bears in their natural habitat we offer our Pacific Orca Lodge Expedition in 2008. Join our email newsletter, Adventure Island, and we will keep you up to date with info about this expedition, rates and prices.

Black Bears and Grizzly Bears in British Columbia

Vancouver Island is home to a healthy population of Black Bears (as of yet there are no Grizzly bears on Vancouver Island) and we quite often see these well-known animals on our kayaking trips. We regularly view them on the beach foraging the high tide lines for food and occasionally we’ll get a curious George type who wants to come and have a look at what we are up to at camp. Over the many years that we have been operating our expeditions, we have come to take great pleasure in our encounters with the bears, they are an exciting part of the coastal kayaking experience. As part of our commitment to education and preservation, our guides will do their best to add to your understanding and appreciation of the bears, responsibility in their habitat, and threats to their survival.

As part of WeGo Kayaking’s commitment to the furthering our friends and clients understanding, and thereby protection of the bears, we have included some information about Black bears and Grizzly bears as provided by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

Black Bears on Vancouver Island

The black bear Ursus americanus is one of the most familiar wild animals in North America today. Black bears are members of the family Ursidae, which has representatives throughout most of the northern hemisphere and in northern South America. Other members of this family that occur in North America are grizzly bears and polar bears. Both of these species are considerably larger than the black bear.

Widely distributed in North America, the black bear occurs from the east to the west coast, as far north as Alaska and as far south as Mexico. It is not found on Prince Edward Island, in Southern Saskatchewan, or in Southern Alberta. The map provides a rough outline of its range.

Although found in a variety of habitats, the black bear prefers heavily wooded areas and dense bushland. Maximum numbers are probably attained in areas of mixed coniferous deciduous forests. Densities in favorable habitats are one bear to every 3 or 4 km2. Black bears are difficult to census because they are shy and secretive. A recent estimate of the continental population is 500 000, give or take 200 000!

Description
The black bear is a bulky and thickset mammal. Approximately 150 cm long and with a height at the shoulder that varies from 100 to 120 cm, an adult black bear has a moderate sized head with a rather straight facial profile and a tapered nose with long nostrils. Its lips, unlike those of other animals such as the wolf or bobcat, are free from the gums and can be manipulated with amazing dexterity. This adaptation and a long manipulative tongue greatly assist the bear when it feasts on tiny blueberries or even tinier ants.

Owing to their compactness, bears often appear much heavier than they really are. Adult males weigh about 135 kg, although exceptionally large animals weighing over 290 kg have been recorded. Females are much smaller than males, averaging 70 kg.

Although black is the most common colour, other colour phases such as brown, dark brown, cinnamon, blue black, and even white also occur. Albinos are rare. The lighter colour phases are more common in the west and in the mountains than in the east. Any of these colour phases may occur in one litter, but generally all cubs in a litter are the same colour as their mother.

The eyesight of the black bear is relatively poor, but its senses of hearing and smell are well developed. A startled animal will usually attempt to get downwind from an intruder and make identification by smell. Under favourable atmospheric conditions bears can detect carrion, which they scavenge, at considerable distances. Frequently, a black bear will stand on its hind legs with its nose in the air and scent the wind for any delectable odours.

Black bears appear awkward as they shuffle along, but can move with amazing speed when necessary. For short distances they have been clocked at speeds of up to 55 km/h. They are good swimmers and frequently cross rivers and small lakes.

Climbing is second nature to a black bear. Young animals readily take to trees when frightened. They climb with a series of quick bounds, grasping the tree with their forepaws and pushing with their hind legs. When descending they travel backwards, frequently dropping from the tree from heights up to 4.5 m. Once on the ground, they quickly disappear into the underbrush, apparently unshaken by the abrupt descent.

Although it is rarely heard, the black bear has several distinct calls. These include a growl of anger, a whining call, and sniffs of many sorts. A female with cubs may warn them of danger with a loud woof-woof and call them in with a whining or whimpering sound. The cry of a young cub in trouble is similar to the crying of a human baby.

Most bears are extremely shy and retiring and usually avoid direct contact with humans. Incidents of black bears attacking humans have been reported but are extremely rare. These attacks were usually made by bears that had been feeding on garbage or by animals in extremely poor physical condition due to old age, disease, or wounds.

Grizzly Bears in British Columbia

The grizzly Ursus arctos horribilis Ord, a subspecies of the circumpolar brown bear, has always been something of an enigma. A large body of folklore and tales has grown up around this much talked about and feared, but little understood, animal. The first white explorer to see grizzly bears and to record them in his journal was Henry Kelsey. On 20 August 1691, Kelsey mentioned seeing "a great sort of bear" near what is now The Pas, in west-central Manitoba. But not until the 1960s, did extensive studies in Canada and the United States begin to make the grizzly bear and its habits better known.

The bear family includes seven species found in the northern halves of both the western and eastern hemispheres, and in South America. The brown bear Ursus arctos is one of the three species of bear found in North America. The other two are the polar bear Ursus maritimus Phipps and the black bear Ursus americanus Pallas. The grizzly has certain unique characteristics, and at first scientists thought that it was a different species from the very similar European brown bear. But, in 1953, they assigned it to the same species as the European and Asiatic brown bear.

There are two recognized subspecies of Ursus arctos in North America. Kodiak bears found on the Kodiak Islands of Alaska are Ursus arctos middendorffi. All the rest, though they may differ in size because of geographic differences in the quantity and quality of food, are grizzlies.

After their many dangerous encounters with individual grizzlies, Lewis and Clark thoroughly described this animal in their journals of 1805. Historically the grizzly was numerous south into California and Mexico and ranged across the western half of North America, approximately to the eastern boundary of Manitoba. As human populations have grown, the grizzly's range has gradually shrunk and is now limited to northwestern North America (see map).

In 1985, estimated populations of grizzly bears were 1200 in Alberta, 6500 in British Columbia, 4000–5000 in the Northwest Territories, 5000–8000 in the Yukon, 15 000 in Alaska, and less than 1000 in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.

Physical characteristics
The grizzly is the second largest terrestrial North American carnivore and, like the larger polar bear, has a prominent hump over the shoulders formed by the muscles of its massive forelegs. The grizzly's unique features are its somewhat dished face and its extremely long front claws (see sketch). Its colour ranges from nearly white or ivory yellow to black. Generally, grizzlies have light or grizzled fur on the head and shoulders, a dark body, and even darker feet and legs. The body shape and long fur tend to make grizzlies look heavier than they actually are. Although grizzly bears have been known to weigh as much as 500 kg, the average male weighs 250–350 kg and the female about half that.

Young grizzlies are born in a winter den, usually during January and February. They are very small, weighing about 400 g and measuring less than 22.5 cm. The common litter size is two, but it can range from one to four. The young grow rapidly, and when they leave the den with the mother in spring they weigh about 8 kg. They continue gaining weight rapidly in the summer and enter the winter den approaching 45 kg. Usually they remain with the mother until June of their third year.

Relationship to people
A grizzly seldom looks for trouble. Its size allows it to avoid fights with other animals and, if at all possible, a grizzly will avoid contact with people. The grizzly is not as persistent around garbage dumps as the black bear, but occasionally its taste for garbage will give rise to trouble. If surprised at close range, a grizzly can ferociously defend itself, its young, and its territory.

Grizzlies are hunted primarily as game animals, throughout western Canada in both spring and fall. In addition, each year conservation officers capture or kill some as predators or when they become a threat to people.

A true wilderness animal, the grizzly can survive only in relatively undisturbed areas. People are the biggest threat to the grizzly, not so much as hunters, as by the continual increase of our population and the resulting erosion of grizzly habitat. Only through better understanding of the grizzly's requirements can Canadians ensure that it will remain part of our living heritage and not just a picture in a book.

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