Elusive Wildlife or Rarely Seen Behaviours

Some animals are easy to see here, like bears for example, but others are far more elusive such as wolves and cougars. This page showcases our efforts to document these species here as well as rarely seen behaviours by our commonly seen wildlife such as bears and otters. Much of this work will be from remote infrared triggered cameras situated throughout the forest. We will continue to update this page as new images come in from the field.

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Cougar - ghost of the rainforest The silent ghost of the rainforest is finally captured on a remote video camera. Though cougars are relatively common here, they are extremely difficult to see due to their nocturnal habits and elusive behaviour. We have recorded several individuals using remote cameras. We have seen their tracks right behind the lodge during winter. This video is Black &White due to the low light during this dusk encounter with this female.
Otters playing on the dock River otters regularly visit the lodge, one of their favorite foraging areas, throughout the year. During the winter when the lodge is quiet they seem to take over the place. They especially enjoy playing in the snow on the docks.
Coastal grey wolf This male wolf from the local pack was occasionally seen resting in the sunny cove north of the lodge during cold winter mornings. This clip shows him cautiously approaching Marg who is hiding behind her tripod. With the wind at his back, he doesn't recognize that usual shape.
Black bear curiosity Curiosity would have killed the bear long before it killed the cat if bears weren’t so able to protect themselves. This black bear and cub cautiously approached the remote camera and eventually sniffed the microphone mounted underneath the camera, all because it was simply something new along the trail.
Bear rubbing in wallow Grizzlies often use “wallows” during the spring/early summer breeding season, probably as a form of scent marking. The wallows appear as basically a mud hole to us but to the bears they are much more. Here a young male vigorously rubs his head in the mud and triggers a remote camera. Several male bears used this wallow last year.
Young male comes for a visit The same young male is now interested in the area around the remote video camera. He may smell my scent from when I installed the camera days earlier or perhaps the scent of one of larger bears that were also marking in the area. But as always he is relying on his nose to understand his world.