Another season for Ma’ah
As the 2019 spirit bear season approached it seemed there was one question on everybody’s mind: would Ma’ah still be with us? Ma’ah is a white bear who is closing in on 20 years old. Her name is the Tsimshian …
BC’s coastal wolves: elusive and worthy of protection
I worked as a guide in the Great Bear Rainforest for 14 years before I managed to get a decent photo of a coastal wolf. I had seen plenty of wolves – even entire packs – but mostly fleeting glimpses, …
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Great Bear Rainforest IMAX and a chance to win
Three years is a long time to wait for anything. But finally (finally!) I was able to see the Great Bear Rainforest IMAX film. As I sat in the giant theatre the rest of the world slipped away while the …
Wolves are just wolves
I have read there have been more books written about wolves than any other species. There is something so compelling about them and, yet, they are also polarizing for people. Opinions about wolves are strong and varied. They are icons …
So many failures
This photo is a screenshot of an American black bear checking out a remotely triggered camera in the Great Bear Rainforest. Thanks to @paulnicklen for technical assistance with this one (i.e. teaching this buffoon the basics of how to use …
Salmon, spirit bears and Ma’ah.
This is Ma’ah. Her name means mother in the language of the local Tsimshian First Nations people. She is perhaps 18 years old, and she is a really special bear. Not only has Ma’ah graced the cover of National Geographic …
Coexistence: Charlie Russell’s legacy
Hunting grizzly bears for sport was banned in British Columbia in April of this year. This is a conservation success story, 20 years in the making, that is about a lot more than killing bears. I think it reflects the …
The winner of our spirit bear tour giveaway is…
Are you nervous? Excited? On the edge of your seat? You should be. This is awesome. I’m about to give somebody a trip to the Great Bear Rainforest to see a spirit bear for half price. Wow! But before I …
One week left in spirit bear tour giveaway
We are giving away a 5-Day spirit bear tour at half the normal price – and there is only one week left to enter for a chance to win. Spirit bears are as rare and wondrous as the temperate rainforest …
More salmon, more grizzly cubs at play
This female grizzly bear is a formidable huntress and a good mother; when this photo was taken she was supporting three cubs with her salmon fishing prowess. Salmon have traditionally been managed only for commercial and recreational fishing interests, without consideration …
A feeling is worth one thousand photos
It is what we had all hoped for. The bear had accepted our presence and was now perched on a rock mid-stream scanning the creek for salmon. Her white fur was wet from an overnight rain and steam rose from …
Bears and Big News in the Great Bear Rainforest
The Great Bear Rainforest is a global treasure. In keeping with this I bring you some highlights from the rainforest in three languages plus some really, REALLY big news. In English, Rick Andrews shares the story and photos from his first …
How to make a Great Bear Rainforest film
This is Francois-Xavier (Fix) De Ruydts at work: Last fall I had the pleasure of guiding the filmmaking team of Fix and Damien Briguet at Great Bear Lodge. Upstream a mother grizzly and two cubs were busy fishing; downstream two sub-adult …
An Ordinary Day With Spirit Bears?
It was the first day of our spirit bear trip this fall, and we were walking up a small creek in the Great Bear Rainforest. Sunlight filtered through the lichens and mosses dangling from the tree branches; salmon splashed in …
Nick Acheson’s Big Cat Quest
Nick Acheson is spending 2015 in pursuit of all the big cats in the world. He calls this monumental project the Big Cat Quest. Over the course of this year Nick is travelling the globe to see and write about things …
How to take a photo of an arctic wolf – in Canoe Roots Magazine
Recently, Kaydi Pyette, the intrepid editor of Canoe Roots magazine was surfing around my website and encountered my “Recipe for a Wolf Photograph” blog. She liked it so much that she asked if she could publish it in her magazine. …
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Wild Ones Live: Nature Needs People
Jon Mooallem is the author of Wild Ones: A Sometimes Dismaying, Weirdly Reassuraing Story About Looking at People Looking at Animals in America. It was one of my favourite books of 2014. But it really shines when done live with …
Bears, Salmon and Drama at Alaska’s Anan Creek
Anan Creek in southeast Alaska is one of those special places where people can get amazing views of bears feasting on salmon. This BBC video shows some great footage of some Anan Creek action. What I like about this BBC …