Bears – A Collection of Photographs from Years Past and Present

Grizzly bears, spirit bears and black bears. Please enjoy our collection of photographs from years past and present. Each of these photos was taken on a Maple Leaf Adventures expedition cruise by a member of the crew or a guest, who have kindly shared them. 

A grizzly bear cub eats a salmon carcass, among the last wildflowers, in early autumn in the Great Bear Rainforest. Photo: Brandon Harvey

A spirit bear looks for salmon eggs in the streambed gravel, in a pose that is one we can relate to. Photo: Brandon Harvey.

A mamma grizzly takes a look, a sniff and a listen around the estuary to monitor for any potential threats to her cub, which is eating sedges beside her. Photo: Mark Sissons

Mum and cubs eating a salmon carcass as we float in a zodiac nearby. Photo: Brandon Harvey, who had actually broken his camera at this point but still managed to get a nice photo!

After nursing her cub in front of us, a mother grizzly bear has her cub swim across a small arm of a river to the security of the rainforest, after deciding another bear was too close for comfort. Photo: Kevin J. Smith

There are many ways that bears use to catch salmon. Some pounce in shallow riffles. Some feel under a deeper river with their paws and grab what's going past or on the bottom. Eating salmon gives bears 80% of their annual protein and determines the number of cubs that will be born the following year. Photo: Brandon Harvey

The Haida Gwaii black bear is the largest sub-species of black bear in the world. Haida Gwaii is the Canadian version of the Galapagos Islands, and species here have evolved differently. These bears have longer legs and bigger jaws than mainland black bears. Photo: Kevin J. Smith

The print of a great bear in the Great Bear Rainforest. Photo: Kevin J. Smith

For more information about bear viewing on our expedition cruises in Canada and Alaska, visit the Maple Leaf Adventures webpage for our Great Bear Rainforest tours and Alaska small ship cruises.