Grizzly Bear Tours - Knight Inlet, BC

Ever dreamed of becoming Bear Guide?! Now is your chance!

Derek — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:20:36 +0000

Tide Rip Grizzly Tours Ltd. is a small independent company located on Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. For over 15 years, Tide Rip has been leading daily boat-based expeditions to view and photograph the wild grizzly bears and other spectacular wildlife native to coastal British Columbia. We subscribe to the philosophy: ‘conservation through coexistence’ and endeavour to promote that through outreach education programs and presentations, fundraising projects, and sponsoring conservation NGOs, in addition to our daily operations.

Duties:

Currently, the Tide Rip Team is seeking a dynamic and enthusiastic, conservation-minded individual to fill the seasonal position of Naturalist/Deckhand between approximately July 8th and August 31st, 2013. Duties for the position include, but are not limited to: natural, geological and cultural interpretation of the Pacific Northwest; promotion of grizzly bear and bear habitat conservation; handling lines, anchoring, maneuvering and in some cases, operation of vessel(s); spotting of wildlife; preparation and serving of continental meals; pre- and post-trip cleaning and provisioning of the vessels.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will possess effective interpersonal skills, that is the ability to communicate effectively and in a manner that is both entertaining and engaging all the while ensuring the safety and comfort of guests.

This position requires professional interpretive skills as pertaining to the natural, geological and cultural history of coastal British Columbia. Graduates with majors in biology, environmental education, natural resources or other related fields are preferred.

The applicant should also have extensive boating experience with all pertinent certifications including a SVOP, MEDA3, ROC and Wilderness First Aid (or their equivalents). Working on and around boats is physically demanding and involves both dexterity and intuition.

Although not necessary, the ability to speak a second language and Food Safe recognition are considered assets.

If you’d like to join our hard-working team, please e-mail a cover letter, resume and list of 3 references with the subject line ‘2013 Tide Rip Guide Position’ by May 15, 2013 to: Derek at contact@tiderip.com

Please note that only those nominees selected for consideration will be contacted.

2013 Tide Rip Grizzly Tours Photography Contest

Derek — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:45:45 +0000

To celebrate the splendour of the Great Bear Rainforest and its amazing animals and mountainous seascapes, we are thrilled to launch the 2013 Tide Rip Grizzly Tours Photography Competition. Entry is free and open to both amateur and professional photographers of any age, with the opportunity to win a fantastic trip into the heart of coastal British Columbia.

Categories:

Animal Portrait: A photograph capturing the unique character of any of coastal British Columbia’s indigenous animals in their natural habitat.

Coastal/Mountainscape: A panoramic of a regional coastal scene, focusing on our spectacular local interface between the wild North Pacific Ocean and the rugged Coastal Mountains.

People: Images of our guests completely and entirely enraptured during one of those priceless Tide Rip moments.

Contest Prize & Terms

PRIZE DETAILS: the winner of each category will receive one Grizzly Bear Tour Voucher (value $299) entitling its sole bearer to a complimentary Grizzly Bear Expedition with Tide Rip Tours. Some restrictions apply. See below.

RESTRICTIONS:

The voucher is non-transferable and redeemable only by the person specifically noted on the coupon.
The voucher is without monetary value and cannot be exchanged and/or refunded.
The voucher is without expiration and redeemable exclusively during the months of May and June.
Scheduling of the complimentary tour is at the discretion of Tide Rip based on seat availability.
The voucher is valid for single use only whether or not bear sightings are deemed successful.

ELIGIBILITY: All images must have been taken on a Tide Rip Grizzly Bear Expedition.

SUBMISSION DETAILS AND CLOSING DATE: Please send all entries to contact@tiderip.com with the subject line: 2013 Tide Rip photo contest. Limit three (3) entries per category per person. In the email, also include your name, contact details and the date the images were taken. All submissions must be received by 16:00 P.M. PDST on Friday May 10^th, 2013.

COPYRIGHT: The copyright of photographs remains with the photographer.

USAGE RIGHTS: By submitting a photograph to this competition, entrants agree that Tide Rip Tours Ltd. reserves the right to free reproduction and exhibition of the image in all media to promote Tide Rip Tours Ltd. Photographers will be credited if an image is used.

MAMA ALWAYS SAID ‘EAT YER FRUITS & VEGGIES’!

Derek — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:42:06 +0000

Contrary to popular belief, approximately 90% of the grizzly bear’s diet consists of vegetation, not human flesh as the media would have you believe! Given that, it’s interesting to note that bears have relatively simple digestive systems. That is to say, like us, vegetable matter mulched through the chompers often comes out the stern looking suspiciously similar to when it went in (just ask staff Naturalist Daryl Dancer who fashions paper products including Tide Rip coffee filters, from bear scat she has methodically collected from the rain forest floor!). To compensate for the inefficient digestion of cellulose, bears maximize the quality of vegetal food items ingested, typically foraging on plants that are in phenological stages of highest nutrient availability and digestibility. This necessitates somewhat predictable seasonal movements throughout their home range from intertidal sedge in the spring to sunlit berry patches in the summer to estuarine bulbs and roots in the fall. In order to facilitate these seasonal harvests, grizzly bears are equipped with some specialized tools of the trade. For instance, the diagnostic muscular shoulder hump provides the horsepower necessary to get the job done, while the elongated claws provide purchase for excavation and the expansion of the serrated molar surfaces helps churn salad into paper pulp. When one can only muster the energy for 7 months out of the sack, nearly every waking hour is reserved for feeding to ensure that enough meat will be laid down on the bones to sustain the bears through the 4000 calorie/day rigors of hibernation. Tide Rip is delighted to announce that our bears have been observing the sage advice of Mama. It’s nature’s broom after all!

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer and wolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Bear Expedition!!!

We depart at 0700 am daily from historic Telegraph Cove bound for the spectacular Knight Inlet by covered water taxi, complete with onboard washroom. Cost is $299 per person (including tax) for this all day excursion that includes a light breakfast, healthy lunch and knowledgeable Guides.

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your Grizzly Bear Expedition.

We know where the bears are. We can get you there!

THANKSGIVING?….IN AUGUST?!!!

Derek — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:42:13 +0000

Yes, while those of us in the bipedal world remorsefully commemorate what has otherwise been an incredible summer with the final hurrah known as Labour Day, our furred friends from near and far are assembling at streams near you for the much anticipated seasonal fish feast Thanksgiving reunion. With a recent estimate of 98,000 pink salmon on the Glendale menu, our dearly beloved residents have been welcoming their out-of-cove kin, in addition to a myriad of other coastal critters, all strategically seated shoulder-to-shoulder streamside drooling and impatiently waiting for dinner to swim by. Let’s be honest, we all know how these family gatherings invariably unfold. Especially when it involves food, there’s bound to be ‘misunderstandings’, general ‘avoidances’, ‘awkward moments’ and perhaps, even love? While most bears prefer the succulence of salmon skin and other such acquired delicacies, those more health-conscious individuals may choose to round off their autumn harvest with tubers, roots and bulbs all of which are now just coming into seasonal ripen. Regardless of their dietary preferences, this is a time of year Tide Rip dedicates to meeting new feral friends, reacquainting ourselves with familiar furry faces, all the while ultimately preparing to say farewell to our yokel locals, an extension of our family, for another long winter…and we’re not even talking about the bears!!!

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer and wolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Bear Expedition!!!

We depart at 0700 am daily from historic Telegraph Cove bound for the spectacular Knight Inlet by covered water taxi, complete with onboard washroom. Cost is $299 per person (including tax) for this all day excursion that includes a light breakfast, healthy lunch and knowledgeable Guides.

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your Grizzly Bear Expedition.

We know where the bears are. We can get you there!

LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES!

Derek — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 20:51:46 +0000

Based on intelligence gathered from our satellite sources, in addition to trade-secret algorithms devised from years of due diligence (read: tea leaves), our Tide Rip Team of Bear-Seeking Specialists have been locating grizzled critters in the most unlikely of places as of late. Yes, has legs, will travel! One can only speculate as to what motives may be serving as the catalysts for these migrations, but it would seem that the complex maze of islands and islets, rocks and reefs known as the Broughton Archipelago has become the late summer playground for a number of bears some of which are familiar to us, and some of which are new acquaintances. Although this is a time of year otherwise dedicated to social tolerances congregating around salmon-bearing streams, instead these bears have chosen a more solitary existence at the expense of meagre sustenance including staples of inter-tidal goodies and late season berries. Meanwhile in the Cove, the salmon continue to trickle in, preparing for the spawn which should commence in mid-late September and desperately dodging would-be predators in the meantime. Although some of the likely suspects haven’t been seen in weeks, long-time resident Lenore, is still seen regularly with her two C-O-Y, the whole family now sporting the latest in winter fashion what with their darkened fluffy coats (see above).

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer and wolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Bear Expedition!!!

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your Grizzly Bear Expedition.

We know where the bears are. We can get you there!

LENORE GETS HER GAME FACE ON!

Derek — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:38:46 +0000

It’s the moment they’ve all been waiting for. Months of physical and mental conditioning, a specialized diet of high protein sedge grass, visualizing their game strategies all in preparation for thee premier event of the season. Let’s get ready to rummmmble! In the brown corner, Lenore, Ursus arctos horribilus, weighing in at a hefty 200 kg. With two cubs to feed, this massacring Mama is all business in the river, attaining breakneck speeds while in pursuit before delivering her signature ‘deadly pounce and bite’. And in the silver corner weighing in at a measly 2kg, we have the pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, though known for its speed and agility, this dim-witted fish is nothing but tasty sushi to the killing carnivores! Although the official figures are not yet in, by all visual accounts anyway numbers of returning salmon appear to be surprisingly hopeful. This is good news for the audience and grrrrr…eat news for the outnumbered yet favoured contenders in this mismatch. These days the fish are silver bright, fresh out of the ocean and full of vigour meaning that catch success is low, but the stakes are high in this calculated game of cat and mouse. It’s definitely a spectator’s sport!

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer and wolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Bear Expedition!!!

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your Grizzly Bear Expedition.

We know where the bears are. We can get you there!

BACK FROM THE SPA, THE LADIES ARE LOOKING HOT!

Derek — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 20:28:49 +0000

Well, what with the dog days of summer behind us, Tide Rip is happy to announce that our resident sows and their cubs are back from summer vacation. Sometime in mid-July when summer decided to rear her beautiful head, the heat ripened up the candy, sending the kids scurrying for the nearest berry patch while their mums spent the day lazing about in rejuvenating muddy wallows under the shade of the forest in a desperate attempt to stay cool as it were. However, now that the heat wave seems to have subsided, the bears have slipped into something a little more comfortable and are sporting their new sleek, sexy summer coats as they gear up for their seasonal dinner engagement. Yes, salmon season is fast approaching, a time dedicated to decadent gluttonism whereby our girls will consume upwards of 40,000 calories worth of fishy bits per day in order to maintain their curvaceous ursus figures’. How this salmon season unfolds is anyone’s guess as it is the third anniversary of the collapse of pink salmon stocks in the waters of Knight Inlet. Let’s all pray for the safe return of the salmon so our beloved bears can return to the den with full bellies!

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer andwolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Bear Expedition!!!

We depart at 0700 am daily from historic Telegraph Cove bound for the spectacular Knight Inlet by covered water taxi, complete with onboard washroom. Cost is $299 per person (including tax) for this all day excursion that includes a light breakfast, healthy lunch and knowledgeable Guides.

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your Grizzly Bear Expedition.

We know where the bears are. We can get you there!

STATISTICS SUGGEST RENEWED BABY BOOM!!

Derek — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 18:43:56 +0000

Aaaaahhhhhh….summer. Who doesn’t like summer, right? Mmmmmm…dessert. Who doesn’t like dessert!? Well, long days and short nights means that the berries have come to ripen and that’s likely a delectable change from the 70 kg of bland sedge grass the bears have been packing back daily until now. As well, the breeding boars appear to have moved on to greener estuaries, affording some much needed peace and quiet for the exhausted sows after countless late night clandestine rendezvous’. There’s a tangible magic in the air…BUT, is all as serene as it seems?! One word: babies. Babies, babies, babies…everywhere! It would seem as though there’s perhaps an epidemic underway. In recent days, Tide Rip Grizzly Expeditions have become more liken to Maternity Ward Tours. In the air, besides the sheer number of eagles, there are noticeably more active nests where little eaglets can be seen perched precariously on the nest edge, cautiously testing their wings preparing for that imminent first leap of faith. In the water, Knight Inlet at times seems more like a dolphin bisque, with cows and their calves frolicking and somersaulting in a timeless choreographed dance. And on land, in addition to the various generations of cubs we’ve been observing over the spring, deer are out and about grazing with their offspring with some does sporting not one, but two fawns. Needless to say, Tide Rip Guides are growing nervous wondering (gulp) ‘who’s next?’

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer and wolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Bear Expedition!!!

We depart at 0700 am daily from historic Telegraph Cove bound for the spectacular Knight Inlet by covered water taxi, complete with onboard washroom. Cost is $299 per person (including tax) for this all day excursion that includes a light breakfast, healthy lunch and knowledgeable Guides.

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your Grizzly Bear Expedition.

We know where the bears are. We can get you there!

UFC turns to KFC!

Derek — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:51:46 +0000

It seems as though the debonair bearded bear affectionately known as Abraham had better revisit his Bear Etiquette 101. Rule Number one clearly states (and I quote): Thou shalt not mess with Mama Bear! With judgement clouded by hormonal ‘urges’, Abraham’s master plan of a brazen daytime attack took an unexpected twist when Kinky eventually turned tail and proceeded to unleash an unbridled can of Girl Power on his bear butt! On more than one occasion Abraham did attempt a cowardly retreat, but Kinky would have none of it, choosing instead to repeatedly deliver calculated blows that left him wondering what day it was. Abraham has been unavailable for comment ever since.

Whether we realize it or not we’re all victims of desensitization in this modern day of invention, but to witness such raw nature in it’s purest sense left all those in attendance awe-struck and speechless. To that end, I’m quite sure that each of her three cubs, also forced to witness their enraged mother, made a pact right there and then to make their day beds every night, wash thoroughly behind their button ears and always, always obey their Mother! Now that’s a take-home message for all of us!

Meanwhile, with Lance Romance now out of the picture, Bella is exercising her newfound freedom and has been seen cavorting with a tall, dark and handsome fellow whose identity remains unknown. It’s good to see that Abraham’s unsolicited persistence didn’t dampen her spirits for love after all…

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer and wolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Tour!!!

We depart at 0700am daily from historic Telegraph Cove bound for the spectacular Knight Inlet by covered water taxi, complete with onboard washroom. Cost is $299 per person (including tax) for this all day excursion and includes a light breakfast, healthy lunch and knowledgeable Guides.

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your grizzly bear tour.

LENORE CONTEMPLATES ADOPTION!

Derek — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 01:26:04 +0000

It would seem as though Lenore is having second thoughts, questioning her philandering promiscuity of yesteryear and seriously reconsidering her hormonal decision to breed with not one, but FIVE males as recent as last spring. Since their emergence some days ago, it is very apparent that the cubs have one thing on their bear brains and one thing only: wrastlin’ with each other and exploring the fascinating world beyond the den. Although extremely entertaining for the rest of us, poor Lenore is bound to a 27 month commitment, ensuring that the kids are safe and sound with many milky meals each day and a roof (of sorts?) over their heads.

In other ursus news, Bella has been observed spending alone time with a mysterious ‘bearded’ bear. Despite his distinguished appearance however, at times it looks as though Bella wants nothing to do with the handsome bruin. Is she just playing hard-to-get or are his aggressive late night bear hugs proving to be too much for this former model Mother turned Jezebel?!

Grizzly bears and black bears, deer and wolves, eagles and an amazing array of seabirds, there’s always something to see on a Tide Rip Grizzly Tour!!!

We depart at 0700am daily from historic Telegraph Cove bound for the spectacular Knight Inlet by covered water taxi, complete with onboard washroom. Cost is $299 per person (including tax) for this all day excursion and includes a light breakfast, healthy lunch and knowledgeable Guides.

Please call toll free 1.888.643.9319 or local 250.928.3090 to book your grizzly bear tour.