The grizzly bear. In just a few weeks, she'll eat almost one-and-a-half-thousand kilograms
and will almost double her body weight. Feeding on a plentiful supply of salmon,
she could be up to 80% bigger than bears that don't fish.
On the bank, she has three young cubs, and this is their first salmon run.
They're busily digging under rocks, looking for salmon eggs.
But if they're to survive the winter, they must learn how to catch big fish
by watching their mother.
It's more difficult than it looks. And they don't have long to learn.
The salmon run will be over soon, and every salmon caught
will increase the cubs' chances of surviving the winter.
But catching fish isn't their only worry. Big males roam these shores.
Unrelated to the cubs, they would kill them on sight.
To eat in safety, Mum leads her cubs into the cover of trees.
This is the key to how the salmon can feed the forest.
A bear needs up to 60,000 calories per day, the equivalent of 550 chocolate bars.
So the bears prefer to eat the brains and ovaries packed with eggs,
the fattiest parts of the fish, giving them maximum calories per bite.
They dump the rest on the forest floor. So many bears hunt here that before long,
three tonnes of salmon can litter an area the size of a football field.
The smell of fish attracts this banana slug. It looks like a banana,
and it can grow just as long as a banana. One of the largest slugs in the world.
They're crucial decomposers in this forest,
and they thrive in the damp conditions–up to five per square metre.
Grizzly bears are iconic hunters, particularly during salmon spawning season in regions like the Pacific Northwest. Here's how a grizzly bear might go about hunting salmon:
1. Locating the Spawning Grounds: Grizzly bears are known to frequent rivers and streams during the salmon run, when these fish return from the ocean to spawn. They rely on their keen sense of smell to detect the scent of the fish and locate the spawning grounds.
2. Ambushing and Catching Salmon: Once at the river, grizzly bears may adopt various hunting techniques to catch salmon. One common method is to wait at the edge of the water or in shallow pools, patiently scanning for swimming salmon. When a fish comes within reach, the bear swiftly strikes with its powerful paws, claws, or jaws, immobilizing the prey.
3. Feeding on the Catch: After catching a salmon, the grizzly bear typically retreats to a safe location, such as a secluded spot along the riverbank or in the nearby forest, to consume its meal. Bears may use their powerful jaws and teeth to tear into the fish, consuming the nutrient-rich flesh to fuel their bodies for the coming winter months.
4. Storing Food for Later: Grizzly bears are opportunistic feeders and may catch more salmon than they can consume in one sitting. They may cache surplus fish by burying them in shallow pits or covering them with vegetation to preserve the meat for later consumption, particularly during times of food scarcity.
Hunting salmon is not only a vital source of nutrition for grizzly bears but also a behavior deeply ingrained in their ecological role as apex predators in their ecosystems. Additionally, their presence at salmon spawning sites contributes to nutrient cycling and ecosystem health, making them integral components of the natural landscape.
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