diaries

These words are recollections of my experiences with bears here in British Columbia. I adore seeing them quite regularly each season.

Before I left my home country of Australia I was hoping I would be lucky enough to see a real live bear when I arrived in Canada. I thought perhaps I might but I also thought they would be elusive and very hard to find. I have decided here on my webpage to keep a diary of my encounters - they were too wonderful to forget and I hope you enjoy reading about them. I will update it as my adventures continue............

The first bear I saw in Canada was not far from my home. We had ventured up into the woods, on an old mine road, and there in front of me on the side of the road was the most gorgeous black bear. He was a solitary figure in amongst the bushes and the trees but sat long enough on the side of the road for me to tell him how beautiful he was and to take his photo. I'll never forget him.

Because of my "bear" enthusiasm we ventured forth again the next day - in the hope that I'd be lucky again and find myself another "neighbour". We did find, in the same area, another bear. She was a dark black velvet colour, wandering along the bank, nose to the ground when she stopped as suddenly as I did. The truck came to a standstill and she looked at me with as much interest as I had looking at her. How did I know she was a mommy. Well, beside her out of the bushes came not one, nor two but three baby bears.

One after the other. She was aware of our presence and decided it best to move herself and her cubs to another place ......she headed off into the trees but alas one of her babies would not follow. He was wanting to know more about me I'm sure. :-) She allowed him about 30 seconds then came back and gave him a quick slap around his bottom and he did what he had been told and followed his mum into the woods. I still find it hard to believe they are just there in front of me. So beautiful and important.

Driving on a back road about a week later- alongside a river - I yelled to Brian to stop as quickly as he could. There across the river walking along the rocks was the most beautiful grizzly bear I had ever seen. He was my first grizzly and will probably be my last because its not easy to find grizzlies. I got out of the truck and took the binoculars.....Brian had the video camera ....... and I couldn't take my eyes off the furry bundle ambling along the edge of the river, bending down and scraping his belly almost into the water so he could fit himself under a fallen tree branch

He wandered along oblivious to us watching him on the edge of the road and he was out looking for lunch no doubt. His coat was dark brown from his feet to his tummy, then around his waist was a thick band of caramel coloured fur. Towards the top of his body and head it was lighter in colour. He was magnificent. I watched him for ages and as he walked along the river's edge I walked along the roadside. And to top it off, above us on a tree branch high up was a bald eagle watching both our progress. That was a day to remember for sure.

We'd gone on a picnic one fine day to a river nearby. We'd been there an hour or so when all of a sudden I looked along the rivers edge into the distance a short pace and saw a couple of dark spots. There were campers in the area and I'd noticed they had their pets with them.

I thought it must be dogs. I watched and they came towards us, closer and closer. A big black mommy bear with three of her cubs tagging along behind. She was obviously looking for their supper and she found herself a dead fish on the rocks........took it back to the bank and they all enjoyed it.

Three bundles of mischief, dabbing their little feet into the water, rolling around and being naughty, and hoping like mad that mom would be able to fill their tummies soon. They were special memories for me........ I think they were the funniest bears I have seen.

I feel very privileged to be part of the bears domain. My home here in British Columbia is in amongst the millions of trees that cover the province from every corner. When the days are sunny or snowy and bright where the sun shines, you can step only a foot from the clearing into the wooded areas and you can be in pitch blackness. Its an ideal escape and home for the thousands of bears that inhabit B.C. I'm glad they are my neighbours.
Especially the ones that show me their newly born cubs ...much like the ones I saw recently.

We had been driving around, picking bundles of wildflowers to bring home and we had taken Wilbur for a swim in one of the many lakes surrounding us. The trees grow right to the water line and stand so green and beautiful. In front of us, about 30 feet into the distance and to the right of the truck I saw a black blob. Was it a tree stump, a mound of earth, or maybe just one of the many shadowy areas you come across in the woods. No, it was a bear. She had heard us coming and had run to the bushy area to hide.

We stopped close by her and she was at the base of a tree. Just a little way up the massive tree were two of her cubs. As we sat there looking, she had obviously told them to scoot as fast as they could...........so up they went to the very top. Tree swaying in the small breeze but mainly from their weight ...little as they were..... they were hanging on for the dear little lives and mum was huffing and puffing at us nervously.

I smiled and shed a tear at the sight I saw. A mom protecting her babies. They were not going to come down as long as we were about and she was obviously getting distressed at our presence so we took a short video shot of them and left them in peace. She stood up to look at us and her black coat was broken by an emblem shape of white fur on her chest.

I hadn't seen one like her before and she will always be remembered for her beauty and her bravery. As we photograhed her babies up the tree we kept a wary eye on mum below in case she made a run for the truck. As we drove away I watched behind me and could still see the little black blobs high up in the tree.   That was a worthwhile drive in the woods. One of my favourite days.

I have no doubt that I will meet many more bears. Its one of my favourite things to do .......go bear hunting. :-) With my camera of course. I think they all get tired of me telling them how beautiful they are and inviting them home for supper...only trouble is I think I would be on the menu if they accepted. Keep returning to this page as I'm sure there will be many more words...............

I have visited a couple of the many salmon spawning areas and when the season commences again soon I'll be there to see if any bears are helping themselves to the fish. They always do and they are truly clever fisherman just like the ones in the photograph above. There are many spots where photographers gather from around the world to take their bear photographs.........

I have great times some days when we go "bear hunting". We can pick bundles of wildflowers, see the snow topped mountains and dabble our toes in the icey cold water of so many beautiful Canadian rivers. If we see a bear then its all the better.

I'm always on the look out for them everywhere and I sometimes wonder if I've not suddenly become the official "bear poop spotter" in the district. :-)) That will mean they have been there and probably aren't far away.
I'll be adding more bear adventures here soon...... we are planning to go up to Hyder, Alaska when the season begins so we can see the bears catching the salmon at a very favourite spot. Many of the worlds best photographers gather there ..... I guess the photographs end up on calendars, books, postcards etc.......or even wildlife shows on the television.

Today is June 18th 2000 and we took a long drive into the woods after supper - it was nearly 7 pm when we came across a beautiful black bear. We'd been looking for a couple of hours - into the trees, the fields and the very thick wooded areas with streams and fallen branches etc. Lots of rocks - and its not always easy to find a black furry "blob" in amongst the blackness of the tree stumps or landscape.

But today from our truck.... close by - about 15 feet - we saw a bear making his way up the small canyon on the side of the road ..... as fast as he could. He'd heard us stop and wasn't hanging around if he could help it.   I watched him for no longer than a minute .... and in that time he'd run from the bottom of the hill to half way up where he disappeared amongt the trees. He'd been down to the stream right at the bottom.

His beautiful shiny black coat glistened in the evening sun and as he ran he wobbled....... his coat moving smoothly, back and forth as he ran for all he was worth. I smiled as he went into the distance thinking to myself that he or she looked as though she'd just come out of the beauty parlour. The bear was wonderfully healthy and glorious in his/her own surroundings ...... and I was kinda sad that it hadn't given me a longer look at itself.

June 20th 2001
Today was wonderful.... what a surprise. We had travelled quite a way into the woods here in British Columbia... probably some 50 or so miles through timber country in the hope that we could find some bears this summer.

A couple of hours into our trek we decided to head off home .. despondent that we'd not been lucky at all this day.   But as we turned a sweeping bend and travelled along the highway getting closer into town Brian suddenly slowed down and stopped beside the road.

There in front of us was the most gorgeous bear just like the one on this page. He was eating grass oblivious to us being there.... I wound down the window of the truck to look at him better and of course his old nose came up and he had a good sniff of us..... quickly I shut the window again hoping I hadn't scared him off.    He continued chewing on the grass, turning over logs and pieces of branches not much caring that we were peering at him.   Two other vehicles came by and he stood up tall to take notice but thought "oh well, nothing much seems to be happening so I'll just continue on with what I was doing"...... so he didn't much care about any of us looking at him.

He ate dandelions and wandered behind a huge pile of timber which had been cut down and stacked by the road.... he then ventured further and went into the woods...   But to our surprise out he came again for another go at the goodies he'd been finding in the bark of the branches lying on the ground.    We stayed with him for about 20 minutes and enjoyed his antics. We were so close to him - about 15 feet away and his beautiful black shiny coat was magnificent. He or she was in good condition and no doubt had probably travelled many miles during the day. I didn't want to go home ... and waited till he'd disappeared into the undergrowth again.
One step back, two steps back and he was gone.

It made me realise that I must pass so many bears on my travels and not even know they are there.   They disappear so quickly and blend in with their surroundings .... often to be mistaken for blackened tree stumps or rocks.... that is of course, until they move and you know its what you love to see.

What a great time I had ... I won't forget him for a long, long time.

June 25th - We went fishing ... and lo and behold on our way to the river - in the same spot as he was before - there stood this gorgeous young bear...     We enjoyed his company once again and he wasn't afraid of us being close to him. His main concern seemed to be how many dandelions he could eat. He fossicked around and never stopped chewing.

We enjoyed our little trip up to the river... Wilbur dog went for a swim... and coming home there he was still there eating to his hearts content. We stopped and smiled at him ... and he walked behind our truck to cross the road. Ambling over the gravel to the other side ... content that he'd found yet more things to eat.   I'm sure he will be there another day.

He seemed oblivious to us watching him ... I even spoke to him and whistled to attract his attention but he didn't take any notice and continued filling his belly. *(grin).
I think he was very special.

August 24th On our way to Terrace... some hours north from where we live in British Columbia we were driving along and suddenly had to slow down to a crawl so a young black bear could make up his mind if he wanted to cross the road in front of oncoming traffic or go back into the woods. The dear little fellow made a dash for the other side ... missing our truck and another car coming in the other direction....   but made it to safety and scrambled up the bank right beside our vehicle. His coat wobbled and shone in the morning sun and before we knew it .. he was out of sight and safe once again.

About 15 miles further on a much larger black bear did almost the same thing.   He crossed the road .. running for his life as the traffic was approaching ... and disappeared down the side of the embankment. We stopped to look at him and as I opened the truck door to talk to him way down below the road ... he turned to look at me. Bless his little heart. he stared at me and listened to my words... I guess wondering what the heck I was.   He ran through the grass and trees and was out of sight in a flash.

That made my day .... seeing two of my favourite critters on a day's outing. I loved them both.