This morning found us sailing into Chatham Strait in search of marine life. Numerous humpback whales made an appearance, but Sitka black-tailed deer, a great blue heron, and a brown bear sow and cubs stole the show. As it turned out, these bears were just a precursor for the ones we would see later in the day.
Our afternoon destination was Takatz Bay, a dramatic region surrounded by soaring mountains with a salmon stream emptying through the meadow into a tidal flat, where we found more bears. A sow with three cubs came into the meadow, followed by a young male. The young male must have been quite hungry as he proceeded to consume meadow grasses for half an hour to our great pleasure. Hikers had the opportunity to walk alongside perennial bear tracks found in the muskeg. My, oh my, what a wonderful first day!
