Bear Watching Tour

Bear Watching Tour

The Bear Watching Tour is a unique and unforgettable experience that provides visitors with an opportunity to observe black bears in the natural habitat and learn about their behaviour and ecology. It is a great way to connect with nature and appreciate the beauty of the west coast of Vancouver Island. This tour is perfect for those guests who prefer to boat on calm and protected waters.

Bear Watching Tours in Tofino take visitors by boat to observe black bears in their natural habit, foraging for berries and shellfish on the low tide. Guides are knowledgable about bear behaviour and will help visitors understand the importance of respecting the bears’ space and avoiding interfering with their natural activities.

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BEAR WATCHING TOURS START IN APRIL

BEAR WATCHING TOURS START IN APRIL

The Tofino Bear Watching Tours start up again in April. All bear watching tours navigate the calm and protected waters around Meares Island at low tide in search for black bears foraging on crabs and fish. The daily bear tours run 2.5 hours and are offered on our Open-Air Boston Whaler Boats and the heated cabin cruiser boat. The bear watching tour times change daily with the low tide.

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Killer Whales up Tofino Inlet (T023C's)

Killer Whales up Tofino Inlet (T023C's)

The T023C Killer Whales make an appearance in Tofino today!

Early this morning I was drinking my tea and getting ready for a busy Saturday when I got a text from our Guide Tim Tom that a gang of Killer Whales were passing his window at Opitsaht. All my Saturday plans changed. John and I headed down to the Eco to set out up Browning Passage to find them. Tim had jumped into his boat and was with the T023C’s when we arrived on scene. We followed the orcas up Browning Passage, into Tofino Inlet where they led us up Tranquil. Along the way they tangled with a sea lion but left it alone after a few breaches.

The T023C’s have broken off from T023’s, aka Motley Crew. T023C was born in 1990 and she appears to have three calves (born in 2009, 2013 and a new one that looks like it was born in the last year or more.

The last time we saw the T023C’s was in May 2016 and they were still with the Matriarch T023. They all took the same path of coming through the Tofino Harbour and headed up Tofino Inlet.

Both the morning and afternoon Whale Watching Tours were able to get out to see the Killer Whales!

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TOFINO BEAR WATCHING TOURS

TOFINO BEAR WATCHING TOURS

Our Bear Watching Tours for 2019 will start up mid-April from Tofino. The Black Bears will be waking up from winter hibernation hungry and looking to forage on the coastline. Vancouver Island has the highest density of black bears in North America, and a total estimated population of 12,000. 

Unlike whale watching, which ventures out on the open ocean's waves, bear watching is done from covered vessel with a viewing deck, or open Boston Whaler boat on the calm inside waters in and around Tofino Inlet. This is where black bears can be witnessed at low tide, as they approach the shore on their quest for nutritious shore crabs by turning over beach boulders and rocks. 

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Bear Cub Rescue near Tofino

On Friday, May 25th we were notified that Hot Springs Tour Boat Guides spotted a deceased black bear sow in Ross Pass. They reported that there was a cub with the black bear's body. John, Michelle from Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society and myself jumped into the Eco and headed up to have a look. We arrived in Ross Pass around 5:00 PM and saw a Black Bear laying on a cliff not moving and a tiny cub laying on the mother black bear. We anchored the boat and John headed up to have a look. The black bear was laying on the ground with no visible trauma or wounds. You could see that the cub had been breastfeeding on the mother after she had died. John looked for the cub and it was hiding in a hole beneath him. He tied to pick it up but it was spooked and climbed a tree. We got back in the boat and moved off to see if it would come down. It did. We tried again to get the orphaned cub but it went back up another tree. We were going to loose light and made the hard decision to come back in the morning. We were all worried that predators would take the cub in the night. 

John and I woke up at 5:30 am. We launched the Lil Salty and headed up to Ross Pass. When we arrived on scene I told John that I would put the boat up to the island and he should jump off and quietly creep up to the cub. If it was still there. Within minutes we could see the cub moving and laying on its dead mother. John quietly walked up to the mother's body to pick up the cub. It saw him and moved into the hole. He patiently waited for it to come back out to lay on its mother. It did and he was able to pick it up and carry it back to the boat. It was screaming. My heart was breaking listening to its screams but I knew this was its only chance to survive. 

The cub was distressed and looked thirsty. John fed the cub some water and checked it over. The cub was so adorable! We brought a pet crate to transport the cub back to Tofino. John put towels over it to keep it dark and it was quiet on the boat ride back. We took the cub back to our house and called the conservation office and the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. Plans were made for us to meet a conservation officer in Port Alberni so he could transport the cub to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. 

We have had updates that the cub is doing well, feeding and being checked by a vet. We hope to adopt the cub and help pay for her expenses while she is in the centre. Eventually she will be released back here when she is ready to be on her own in the wild. We are elated that we could help make a difference. We make our living off of Bear Watching in Tofino so we will always give back to the bears. 

Thanks for all your kind words and support. We never think twice about jumping in the boat to help both wildlife and humans whenever we can. 

If you want to donate money to help the cub while it is at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre please reach out to them! We will also be donating to help fund the cub's recovery at the centre until it can be released back into the wild. 

Jennifer 

Tofino Bear Cub Rescue
Tofino Bear Rescue
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Tofino Bear Cub Rescue