She's Got Moves! ..Big Grizzly Bear Sow Displaying some Agility on the Hunt. Earlier, this Grizzly Bear caught an Elk calf and now she is hunting ground squirrels. This Big Grizzly was the Mum of One very Healthy Cub a couple weeks ago, but lost it likely to another big Boar. She has travelled up to 60km in the last few days. They do have such a tough life, but here her calories in were more than calories out. We sure hope to see this awesome Grizzly Bear produce offspring again soon.
Our First encounter with a special Grizzly Mother and her newborn cubs this year. She is such a patient and well tempered Grizzly sow and we are now lucky enough to witness her with her second set of Cubs over the last several years. It was an exciting day as we were not certain she was okay over the Winter, but clearly she was. Grizzly Bears produce only two or three cubs every three years and their survival rate is unfortunately very low. Everyone in this location of Canada's Rockies will be Cheering this family on in 2020!
Grizzly Bear Mum tends to her nutritional needs while the healthiest newborn Bear Cub(cub of the year) we have seen makes a first appearance. Unfortunately, this grizzly cub does not have a sibling to play and "practice" with, but it shows the benefits of the food advantage a single cub has. This grizzly bear cub is not only very well fed, but seems to be very relaxed close to Mum.
A Rare occurrence.. Grizzly Bear Cubs from Newborns to Sub-Adults. It's very rare for Grizzly Bear Cubs to make it this far, and especially 3 Siblings together. They just left their Mother a short time ago and are finding their space together. Here the Grown Cubs become separated, but never venture far as we witness them reunite late the next evening. Their exceptional noses prove to be their most powerful tool in keeping together. As a Unit, these Grizzly Bear Cubs stand a much better chance of survival.
Grizzly Bear in Jasper National Park, Alberta; Just Out of Hibernation. This Bear has apparently been travelling quite a distance in Canada's Rockies. Now out of Hibernation, this sub-adult Grizzly demonstrates their powerful digging ability.
The most well tempered Grizzly Mum with her Yearlings in the Grizzly Maze has to do a dance between protecting her cubs from other Grizzlies, navigate a very high human traffic area, as well as insure they all get nutrition. Here, GrizzMa finds a safe space to cool off in the Athabasca River on a hot day.
This Grizzly Bear Family with an incredible temperament is well loved in this area of Canada's Rockies. Just about to embark on Grizzly Bear mating season, Mum will have to deal with more Boars entering the area, threatening the safety of her cubs. One Boar has already been pursuing this Family over the last several days. We were very lucky to have some rare moments with this amazing Grizzly Family before they may have to disappear as mating season adjusts the mood.
This was the first encounter with this big Grizzly Bear Sow after she lost her cub of the year. It was tough to find out as the cub appeared to be the biggest and healthiest cub of the year we have ever seen. Many are looking forward to seeing this Grizzly Mum have offspring again next year as she is so healthy herself.
We initially thought this was a well known family, but it turned out to be a very gifted muscular Mum and Cubs(1 year older than the cubs we knew) that we had not previously witnessed. At this particular time, this Grizzly family was focused on the calories from Elk babies. This is a much different behavior than Grizzlies munching on dandelions or grass and roots. We knew there was at least two Elk babies that they missed here, which shows some incredible luck and deficiencies. Apparently, Grizzly bears have a nose that is 7 times more effective that a bloodhound. If true, the Elk babies they passed by were truly of no scent.
Grizzly Bears seek out suitable partners from May through July with a peak being in mid-June. Please let us know if the audio is OK or if we should alter it? ..The Grizzlies did not make any natural sounds during this encounter and we thought we would lighten it up a bit.
The largest Grizzly Bear we have seen in Alberta's Rockies in the Spring so far. Hedysarum alpinum is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name alpine sweetvetch. These roots are a primary food for grizzly bears in some areas, such as Alberta's Rockies.
Grizzly Bears' food sources vary with season and habitat, for instance... a plant that is highly nutritious in spring may have little food value in the summer. Sweetvetch roots for example, are an energy rich food source for Grizzly Bears when they wake up in the Spring. We captured this Video of a very Large Grizzly in Canada's Rocky Mountains.
It is suspected this Grizzly Mother and Cubs chose to come down from recent snow filled altitudes in search of green, of which precipitation has fortified in the valley bottoms of Alberta recently. An amazing few moments for us, but we don't expect to see this beautiful back country family again as they will probably choose higher altitudes very shortly.
As evening approaches, these Grizzly Bear Cubs of the Year gradually slow down and become more affectionate with each other and Mum. These are typical signs near feeding and bedding down times for Grizzly families that are not stressed in nature. Another wonderful surprise as night falls in Canada's Rockies.
A Beautiful Happy Grizzly Bear in Jasper, Alberta.
We haven't seen this Grizzly Mother(Sow) and her Cubs of the Year for a little while, so it was nice to witness them looking very healthy.
Here are some of our Favourite Canadian Wildlife Moments on video.
Grizzly Bears »
From coast to coast, Canada offers some of the most diverse Wildlife in untamed land tours in the World. Canada's vast wilderness of alpine meadows in the Canadian Rockies may be the best place to see Black and Grizzly Bears. The nutrient rich waters of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans attract plenty whales, dolphins and some killer whales. Canada's Northern wildlife tours offer amazing polar bear encounters in the tundra.