Years ago, before I got a good camera, I took this photo of a grizzly. It’s not very clear, but I really didn’t want to do a close-up.
This is the Orford River which flows into Bute Inlet on the west coast of British Columbia.
We had tied the fish boat to a small dock in a bay around the corner, and then took a ride up the river in our aluminum skiff. The area was known for grizzlies and we wanted to see one, but I hadn’t counted on two things:
that we would actually see one not too far away,
and that the mouth of the Orford has a lot of sandbars.
I’ve had nightmares about bears forever, but it would still be a big deal to see one. I knew if a bear actually came along and tried to chase us, we could just turn the skiff around, rev up the outboard, and roar out of there.
On the way upriver though, we were pushing the boat off one sandbar after another with the oars to keep in water deep enough to use the motor. These sandbars were spotty and just when you thought you were in the clear, up popped another one. So I was even more nervous than usual. And of course that’s when we saw him.
Even with his hind end in the water, as he swatted at salmon going by, I could tell he was huge. We watched for a moment or two, but when he saw us, we knew it.
His head came up and he stretched his neck up tall. Then as he sauntered in our direction along the fallen log that you see lying across the river, we thought it was time to get out of there.
There are some things you do in your life that seem okay at the time, and later you say to yourself, “What was I thinking?!”
This was one of those times.
It was a big thrill to see the bear, but what if he hadn’t been so agreeable? Didn’t I know how fast they can run for a short sprint? And what if we had gotten high-centered on one of those sandbars in our haste to get away.
Everything could have ended up differently.
And I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about it,
because bears don’t have Internet inside their bellies.
June 4, 2021 at 12:09 pm
I’m glad you’re still here! Despite their size, they can move like greased lightening and can climb trees like squirrels. But we all do those things, don’t we? The things where we ask ourselves later where the old brain was hiding. That has to be a human touchstone, something that unites us the world over.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 12:42 pm
What’s that saying about God watches out for children, drunks and fools?
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2021 at 12:03 am
Hahaha. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 12:19 pm
That’s a scary position to be in, Anneli, I’m glad that you guys are still here!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 12:43 pm
We’ve had so many scrapes, it’s a wonder we’re still alive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Maybe you can carry a .45 pistol and a shotgun! But I think Canada has a very different view on gun ownership?
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 4:13 pm
Hahaha, We did have a gun handy, but the thought of having to use it on a bear … well, it doesn’t “bear” thinking about. And you have to hit the thing too. And then comes the logic of it all – why would I want to go looking for a bear just to see it and then have to kill it? I know what you’re saying, don’t go poking a hornet’s nest without protection, but if we’d had to use the gun, I think we would have landed in no end of red tape trouble. But if we didn’t we wouldn’t have had to worry about that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 4:15 pm
The authorities whether the RCMP or local officers should understand the killing if it was in self-defense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 4:18 pm
You would be surprised! I know of a fellow who got into all kinds of legal trouble defending his property (and potentially his family) when a grizzly started wrecking the place. It wasn’t right, the way he was treated, but some of these officials take their jobs way too seriously.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 6:51 pm
Yes indeed according to your comment, I’ll take a jail sentence before allowing my family to be harmed by any animal. Perhaps the police were in to political correctness and/or who knows what?
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 6:58 pm
Yeah, who knows?
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 1:26 pm
Whew- I have a bit of bear-phobia so that looks too close for comfort! I hear you on the “what was I thinking” after the fact front though- looking back I DEFINITELY got too close to some bison in Yellowstone… why on earth would I do that I wonder now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 4:09 pm
It’s as if we think we are protected somehow just for being so naive. Like fools on a holiday. I think that’s part of being young”ish” too. As I said, this happened quite a few years ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 2:03 pm
What a life experience! In all of my Western reading, I am convinced Grizzlies are the largest, most treacherous of all bears. Black bears–not so bad. Grizzlies–Don’t let them see you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 4:07 pm
Maybe polar bears could be worse. Not sure. But I do know that the black bears of the interior are more predatory than the coastal ones (which are happy to eat fish).
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 5:14 pm
They might be. My Westerns didn’t cover those critters. And didn’t know about predatory black bears. I would have allowed my guard to slip a bit if the bear was black. Now I won’t.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 5:58 pm
No, you can’t trust the black bears either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 2:33 pm
I’ve seen black bears but only at a distance which suits me just fine 😏.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2021 at 4:15 pm
That’s the way to keep it.
LikeLike
June 5, 2021 at 5:40 am
Wow! That’s something.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2021 at 1:20 am
I know the feeling when a bear stands suddenly a few meters from you. Even if it wasn´t a grizzly. Still gives me a shiver.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2021 at 8:29 am
A bear is a bear is a bear! They are bigger than us and they sometimes think we are food. No wonder it till gives you shivers.
LikeLike
June 6, 2021 at 10:30 am
Your trusty camera captured him and that stunning setting beautifully…I remember jumping out of our vehicle on an up country trek to watch a large cinnamon bear run towards the river forgetting what might happen if he turned around and saw us, yikes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2021 at 11:29 am
That would have changed things a bit, wouldn’t it?! We do dumb things in our younger days and later we think how lucky we were. Then it’s great to remember only the thrill of seeing our bear and forget about what might have happened if we hadn’t eaten four-leaf clovers that day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2021 at 11:33 am
So true! We went on a morning walk through the park this week and had a young female coyote walk beside us on the miniature golf green…she looked over at us once or twice but seemed more interested in hunting for breakfast. It’s such a blessing to find ourselves so close to nature…
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2021 at 11:38 am
You want to be careful of those “semi-tame” coyotes. They are losing their fear of people. A young woman was killed by coyotes in a Nova Scotia park a few years ago as she hiked along a trail. So be careful. (Taylor Mitchell, in 2009) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coyotes-kill-toronto-singer-in-cape-breton-1.779304
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2021 at 11:49 am
How sad! Thank you for the reminder, we kept our distance but I have to admit, I felt a fissure of fear.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2021 at 11:55 am
Stay safe!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 9, 2021 at 9:17 am
Wow what a story! That bear was a bit too close. Never seen one as I’m in the UK but seen them on the telly. Big and fast! I did once get chased by cows but no match for a bear!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 9, 2021 at 4:25 pm
To be honest, Vinny, I’m scared of cows!
LikeLike
June 10, 2021 at 2:54 am
Well if I had a choice between a cow and a bear I know which one is choose! Mind you cows are fast once they get a trot on. I had to jump over a fence to get away!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 10, 2021 at 8:25 am
Yes, me too. (I know what I’d choose.) LOL
LikeLike