Grizzly Encounter
- Adam Ferry
- Sep 17, 2023
- 3 min read
It was my wife and I’s honeymoon in September and we decided on a dream location of Canada. We started off in Banff, which had the most beautiful landscapes and scenery I’ve ever seen, then off to Vancouver for a few days and finally a week in Tofino, Vancouver Island.
Its impossible to go to go to somewhere as beautiful as Canada and not take pictures so I had to bring my camera and thankfully my wife agreed! I honestly can’t explain how beautiful Canada is and how natural sights there are to see there. Every road trip we did I stopped off every 10 minutes to see something amazing. One thing we very quickly decided we wanted to do was a once in a lifetime trip to see the Grizzly Bears that call this part of the world home. So we booked a trip with a tour company from Vancouver Island to Toba Inlet, where the Grizzlies are found. There are only Black Bears on the island so we had a bit of travelling to do!
So one early morning whilst in Tofino we woke up at 5am and started the long 3hour 30mins journey to Cambell River where our tour would begin. Once we got there we checked in and waited for the other guests to arrive. Finally once everyone had joined we hopped on the small boat and began the long journey of around 2 hours towards the Toba Inlet back on the main land of British Colombia.
Along the way we were lucky to see a Black Bear hunting along the coast on one of the many islands in the area. Once we finally arrived in Toba Inlet we were greeted by a guide who represented the Klahoose First Nations who would take over this part of the tour and who hail from the traditional territory of the Toba Valley.
After the safety talk and welcome, we all clambered onto the big bus and started the journey deeper into the rainforest. At one point we were meters away from a large wildfire which was a bit unnerving but all too common this time of year here. There are multiple tall viewing platforms dotted along the river and the idea was that scouts would tell the guides where the bears are, we would hop on the bus and travel between them for the next few hours.
When we first arrived at the first platform the smell of rotting salmon overpowered us and definitely took a while to get used to! But straight away on the first platform we saw a Black Bear in the distance eating Salmon which apparently is quite a rare sight as they avoid the areas were the Grizzly bears are.
It didn’t take long before we noticed some movement in the rainforest very close to the platform and suddenly out of nowhere a Mother Grizzly Bear and Cub emerged from the bushes. We couldn’t believe our luck and for the next hour we watched the two bears hunting Salmon in the shallow river catching and eating them, filling up in time for hibernation later in the year. The Pink and Chum Salmon were running in the creeks of the rivers for breeding which attracts the bears each year, when the bears switch from their mostly berry filled diet. The Cub even seemed to be a better hunter than the mother! At one point the mother caught and accidently let go a big Salmon and the Cub came over to her and looked like it scolded her as you can see in the photos below.
Over the next few hours we travelled between the different platforms and saw multiple Grizzly Bears and Black Bears, as well as Golden Eagle, a Belted Kingfisher and countless Pink and Chum Salmon. It was such an unforgettable once in a lifetime experience for us, that we will never ever forget. Being so close to these amazing wild Grizzlies was incredible and its so hard to imagine their size unless you’re a few meters away from them. Sadly our adventure had to come to an end at some point and we eventually started the long journey back home but the memories we got on that day will last forever.











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