September 12, 2013 – Today would have been Mom’s birthday, and one of the things that I enjoyed having fun with was the fact that she really did worry about the things that I did and the places I would go. I can only imagine what she would have thought of this, today, on her birthday of all days.
It was a tough morning, waking up and thinking about her. I had a little cry, and then had to pull up my boots and get on with the day. I was in Bella Coola and heading out on the Atnarko River with a hatchery crew to collect Chinook broodstock. I couldn’t show up with tears in my eyes. I had to get my head on straight and be focused on the river and the fish.
There are a lot of bears in the region, but I never seem to see any. The crew thought we wouldn’t encounter any as the day was too hot, but as it turned out, we encountered four.
This is Rip-Torn – a big boar that they are familiar with and relatively comfortable around. They described him as being relatively “polite” and he and the crew are very respectful of each other. When he showed up on the river the guys called out to me to get my camera and Lawrence picked up the shot-gun and he led me closer. When the bear wasn’t looking we edged closer, when it turned to look at us we froze in place, then edged closer again, until we found a place on the bank where we could just quietly sit and observe.
Rip-Torn sized us up, decided we weren’t worth any effort, and cooled himself off in the river. It was spectacular to watch this massive animal enjoying the cool water. Eventually he moved off and went back into the forest and we got back to work and did another set.
We were eating our lunches on the river bank when Rip-Torn came back out for a second river plunge, and he watched us carefully before moving back into the bush and circling around behind us to come out above us where he snacked on the salmon carcasses we had left on the bank.
And yes, he’s relatively close here. Less and 100m away, about three or four good bounds from us, if he had been so inclined. Those eyes were very calculating and intelligent.
Four days on the Central Coast, and me with two cameras. That means that I have a lot more photos to sort through and process….
23 comments
That’s a big boy! Much larger than the one we saw.
He was a VERY big boy. We also had a sow and two cubs visit a little later, and she made us a lot more nervous as the crew wasn’t familiar with her. There was a tense moment when we put the rafts back in the water after we thought she’d moved on and she suddenly appeared on the log above us. Not sure who was more surprised, she or us, but we were definitely more frightened, particularly when she stood up on her hinds and huffed at us before spinning around and hopping back down the log!
Now that look seems menacing to me. Good catch 🙂
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Now that look seems menacing to me. Good catch 🙂
They also added this photo to their favourites
One does not mess around with the top of the food chain!
They also added this photo to their favourites
They also added this photo to their favourites
No, you are correct, one does not!