2019 spirit bear highlights
2019 was an exceptional year for us with incredible bear sightings. Here’s a re-cap of some of the main characters from our tours in the Great Bear Rainforest.
Author: Tim Irvin
Tim Irvin is a naturalist and guide, and the Director of Wildlife Journeys, a wildlife tourism company that leads expeditions in the Great Bear Rainforest.
Famous spirit bear lives on
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….
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.
Great Bear Rainforest IMAX celebrates local First Nations
Three years is a long time to wait for anything. But finally (finally!) I was able to see the Great Bear Rainforest IMAX film.
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…
Wildlife photography is full of failures (and that’s okay)
This is a photo of an American black bear checking out a remotely triggered camera in the Great Bear Rainforest. Thanks to Paul Nicklen for technical assistance with this one (i.e. teaching this buffoon the basics of how to use and maintain an underwater housing). There were many, many failures while trying to get this one shot. So many failures. Oh, so many failures…
Salmon, spirit bears and Ma’ah.
This is Ma’ah. Her name means grandmother in the language of the local Tsimshian First Nations language. She is perhaps 18 years old, and she is a really special bear. Not only did Ma’ah appear…
Coexistence: Charlie Russell’s legacy
Hunting grizzly bears for sport was banned in British Columbia this April. But this is about a lot more than killing bears. I think it reflects the changing relationship people have with nature. One of the people who has helped push things in this direction is Charlie Russell. Sadly, Charlie died this week.
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…
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.
More salmon, more grizzly cubs at play
These grizzly bear cubs are playful for a reason: their mother is a formidable salmon hunter.
A feeling is worth a 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 her back in the morning sun. It was like a scene from National Geographic television – only this was live.
Bears and Big News in the Great Bear Rainforest
The Great Bear Rainforest is a global treasure. In keeping with this, today I bring you some highlights from the rainforest in three languages and some really, REALLY big news.
How to make a Great Bear Rainforest film
Zip lines, cameras, grizzlies, salmon and adventure. This is filmmaking in the Great Bear Rainforest. Oh yeah, and giant slugs too…
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 the stream. This creek is one of the best places on Earth to see a Kermode, or spirit, bear. The only problem was nobody had seen one here this year…