September 17, 2010

Here Come the Bears!

Your patience has finally paid off. Here come the bears! Isn’t the furry fellow in this painterly photo conversion just precious?

Let me give you a little background about how we observed wild grizzly bears on this tour. We stayed at a beautiful mountain lodge in the middle of Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. Just a few hundred yards from the lodge is the Atnarko River, which flows into the Bella Coola River. This time of year, the rivers are filled with spawning salmon. So it is a favorite fishing spot for the bears!

We immersed ourselves in the bears’ habitat by taking float trips down the river. We enjoyed the spectacular scenery while patiently waiting for our furry friends to appear.

We never knew when they would pop out of the thick grass along the riverbank.

Or when they would be searching for a good fishing hole along the river bank.

We were at eye level with them while they went about their business.

They would look our way every now and then, but they paid us no heed.

But this fellow swam close by and was wondering if we had an extra seat available!

Most of all, it was fascinating to see them get animated. They moved very quickly, always ready to pounce for their dinner!

For these magnificent creatures, it’s all about the fish.

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories later!

9 comments:

  1. Wow! Donna, your photos are amazing...I feel as if I'm reading National Geographic only better. Did you see the piece that Judy (My Front Porch) did on the salmon a few weeks ago? It was all very interesting and, I assume, ties in with these bears getting a square meal. Just fabulous phots! Did I already say that?

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  2. Amazing photos but I imagine that seeing it in real life had to have been even more amazing.

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  3. Those pictures are fantastic!!!!!! I LOVE them! You got some terrific shots. So glad you had such a wonderful trip.

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  4. Those are some sweet pictures my friend. So cool! It's like I was there and I'm now craving salmon. LOL!
    Have a great weekend.
    Kim

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  5. Love your photos! But! Being out in a boat, on same river with animated/hungry bears! Mmmm, not for me. :-)

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  6. Simply magnificent ... the bears, the surroundings, the pictures. My husband and I both oooh'ed and aaaahhhh'ed over the shots of the bears and now I want to hug one of those grizzlies just for being so beautiful. GREAT camera work, Donna! I want to go to Tweedmuir! You've started something.

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  7. Wow! Great pictures of bears! That must have been so exciting to see!!

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  8. D-O-N-N-A!!!! Those pictures are just so so so wonderful!!!!
    How I would love to just float along a river such as you did spotting those bears....amazing!!!

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  9. Loved seeing your wonderful pictures of 'Da Bears! The surroundings didn't miss my notice either...beautiful country isn't it! we watch national Geographic coumentaries on TV and have always thought how interesting the salmonn journey was...the bears all a big part of the story..God provides for us all.

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Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!