The very large silver tip grizzly was coming directly at us, and fast.
I had no choice but to fire a round from the .270 rifle I was carrying at a large boulder a few feet away, and Clarence fired his service revolver. At 100 feet from us, the bear changed course into a gully.
A few seasons back, a former conservation officer and I decided to do a mountain goat study, in the upper Wap, high above Three Valley Gap.
The sun shone brightly through the balsam trees, on the trail leading to the uppermost peaks. On entering the alpine meadow we could see where recent digging had pulled up wild carrots the big bruins were feeding on. We had hunted goats in that beautiful area for years with hunting draws.
Related: A look at how hunters and anglers are faring in the Shuswap
However, we knew that this gene pool of grizzlies had a mean streak, as they would come in after two days and wreck our camp tucked away in the scrub balsam.
A timber cruiser for Federated Co-op had been treed by an agitated bear years back as well and spent four hours up the tree.
For those that have read Gary Shelton’s book, Bear Attacks: The Plain Truth, or Grizzly Bear Mountain by Jack Boudreau, they may have a better understanding of grizzly bear behavior, agitation and survival instincts.
Being omnivores, bears eat most plants and meats. So, in the case of the Wap grizzlies, they need room to roam in clear cuts for raspberries, grasses and huckleberries, as well as to catch coho salmon in Wap Creek in late fall.
One of our fishery officers refused to start a count, walking the stream when he saw fresh coho innards on a rock one snowy November morning.
Many viewers of CTV news recently saw a large grizzly digging out a den of black bears. One cub tried to run away while mom and the other two kids got away. In the wild, this is what happens.
Wolves too, will kill and devour denned black bears by digging them from dens under large stumps, or other hibernation areas.
Related: Column: Return of the big bears
Bella Coola grizzlies are very large coastal bears. A few seasons back, three of us fished the Atnarko/Bella Coola River for chinook salmon, and had many encounters with the grizzlies. The fisheries pool where many anglers camp is on a migration route to the Atnarko river.
When the salmon are in the river you can expect bear trouble, as we have seen. Black bears have stolen our fish from ferns right behind us, where we had put our catch.
Historically, the bears’ instinct to survive and hibernate is to fatten up before denning. What we see now on TV news is human encroachment and over-harvesting of the bears’ food sources.
Related: Column: Deer’s legendary sense of smell challenges hunters
For food or ceremonial purposes, through gill netting and drift netting, commercial boats are taking salmon out in the chuck coming down the Bella Coola river in two boats strung apart with a gill net between. Seals and sea lions are targeting salmon at the mouth of the Bella Coola river. These combinations have made it harder for the bears to survive without human conflict added to the realm of things.
Despite the bear populations, it’s a wonderful trip across the Chilcotin plateau and down the big hill to the valley below. Park rangers have widened the trails from camp spots to fishing pools for anglers. Hagensborg is a great place to relax and camp a few kilometres up from Bella Coola. Just watch out for those grizzlies when down by the rivers!
@SalmonArm
newsroom@saobserver.net
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