Finally the ‘holy grail’!

It is with a heavy heart that we are now having  to say goodbye to Canada. Two weeks have passed by in an absolute flash, but sadly all good things have to come to an end at some point. We can certainly return to the UK knowing we squeezed out every minute of the daylight during our trip and admittedly sacrificing sleep for spending as much time in the field as possible. In the process clocking up 4,563 miles (7360km) in the car and taking over 4000 images. We will admit that we are now both feeling pretty exhausted!

We came with a mission to photograph bear cubs and as our previous blog posts have reported we have had success with finding black bear cubs. However, we had not yet reported any success of finding any Grizzly bear cubs. The holy grail of sightings for us where bears are concerned. Well, that was until 12th June, when finally on the last full day of our trip our luck changed. A day that quite probably marks as one of the briefest but best sightings of the whole trip.

It was around 9:30am and at this point we had been unsuccessful in looking for a set of black bear cubs and their momma whom we had seen the day prior. A day that started with billows of dark cloud enveloping the surrounding mountain pecks with a mysterious and eyry curtain, whilst mists cloaked the many lakes. Just the odd ray of light trying to squeeze through. We had been out of phone signal for some time and just as we came back into reception the phone bleeped. It was a text from our friend John that just read “Grizzly and three cubs” followed by the location. So just as the trip had started we once again we had a text that set our hearts racing. Needless to say we headed to where John was but already momma grizzly had tracked back into the forest and out of sight. Speculating that  it may be sometime until she reappeared we took a drive to a different area for other possible wildlife opportunities.

After an hour or so and thinking that by now the grizz may have reappeared we tracked back to the same location and as we came around the bend we just caught sight of her, and just visible were her three tiny cubs. They had literallly just come out of the forest.

To say these cubs were adorable is probably the understatement of the century. With cute little white faces they tracked along the grassy bank and followed close to their mother, who was a beautiful light brown colour and quite some size. We had them on the at the edge of the tree line for just around 10 minutes before they once again disappeared into the thick forest. The cubs chomped on the occasional dandelion, then darting back up and down a tree before the mother ushered them along and out of sight for good.

By now it was around 12pm and we faced the dilemma of either heading off to look for other bears or staying put and waiting for her to show. A grizzly bear with three cubs is certainly not an everyday occurance and so this sealed the decision, we had to sit it out! We took ‘recces’ up and down the road, in case she popped out at another location. This continued for many hours and finally at 9pm, (9 hours later and in the meantime consuming copious donuts!) we had to admit defeat. So although our patience had not been rewarded we at least knew we had given it our best shot. We also felt happy that in the brief time we had seen her we managed to get some images as they frolicked and foraged.

The next morning, and our last full day we decided to give the grizzly mother and cubs another go. Returning to the same area as the day prior we waited and waited and took the odd drive down side roads. We found tracks that looked to be from the night before and plenty of scat, still fairly fresh so we knew she was still in the area. About 6 hours later and coming down a tiny track we eventually caught a glimpse of her, just crossing the track, but quite far in the distance, before she disappeared again into the dense wood. Then appearing again for a brief moment about 2 hours later. Unfortunately giving us very limited opportunities for any images, apart from a split second when she peered up at us through the grass a 100 -150 metres or so away down a steep bank before again disappearing. She seemed to be quite a shy bear and no surprise given she had 3 small bundles of cuteness to protect. The likelihood of her appearing again was looking slim and at this point intense rain cascaded from the skies, mixed with thunder and lightning.

We stayed in the area until very late again, sucking up every last minute of our last night. Although we never found her again we were instead treated to something we had always hoped to hear. The howling of wolves close by. Their howl echoed in the valley with the most haunting sounds. It continued for less than one minute and gave John, Andy and I goosebumps like you would not believe. It sounded like at least three, maybe more individuals. A sound like no other and a sound that would always remain forever in our minds. A fitting way to end our trip.

So all in all it has been a successful trip, we will certainly miss the bears, and the cute squirrels that we spent many an afternoon photographing. As well as the outstanding beauty of the Canadian Rockies. We will also hugely miss the fun and laughs we had with John, a truly great guy. (A huge thank you John!) Lastly I can’t also forget a mention of how much we will miss our daily ‘Tim Hortons’ visit which became a daily ritual!

One thing is for sure is that we have vowed to return again to the area of Jasper. Another great stunningly beautiful wildlife destination that we have had the privilege to visit.

Fortunately we have only 5 weeks to wait until our next photographic adventure that takes us back to one of our favourite places in the world – Botswana. Where once again we will bring news through our blog and hopefully return with many more images.

A big thanks to all those who have followed our Canadian adventure here on our blog. Keep checking back as we load more blogs in the coming weeks as well as new images to our gallery.