BROUGHTONS IN THE BALANCE
Canadian Geographic|March/April 2020
SALMON RUNS ARE FAILING AND GRIZZLIES SEEM TO BE ON THE MOVE IN THE ISLANDS BETWEEN MAINLAND B.C. AND NORTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND. WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE BROUGHTON ARCHIPELAGO?
JAKE MACDONALD
BROUGHTONS IN THE BALANCE

ON A FOGGY WEST COAST morning in October, I pull on boots and rain gear and get ready to go looking for grizzlies. My guide, K’odi Nelson, meets me down at the dock and introduces Sherry Moon.

“She’s our top guide,” says Nelson. “When we’re in the woods, Moon leads the way and I cover the rear. We both have spray, and there’s never been a case of a grizzly attacking a group of more than three people, so we should be okay.”

They both work for Sea Wolf Adventures, an Indigenous-owned agency that guides tourists in bear country. We cruise at slow speed into the Broughton Archipelago — a maze of foggy islands between the coast of central mainland British Columbia and northern Vancouver Island. The sea is smooth as paint, spattered with flocks of murres and the occasional V-wake of a swimming seal. Forested palisade cliffs lean up into the mist. Every few kilometres, a burst of spray announces the appearance of a humpback whale. After the better part of an hour, we reach the precipitous slopes of the mainland. In the creeks and rivers of these coastal mountains, salmon return home to spawn and die. And where there are salmon, there are grizzlies.

At the top end of a narrow fiord, we stop at a tidal flat. As we prepare to go for a walk, Nelson apologizes. “I’m normally a happy sort of guy, so sorry if I seem a bit quiet. I’m feeling kind of heartbroken.”

Mud sucks at our boots as we hike across the tidal flat. Nelson is a hereditary Chief of his band, and he’s worried about the salmon. We stop here and there, examining wide excavations where grizzlies have rototilled the turf, digging up edible roots. Nelson kicks at a heap of manure, hoping for fish fins. “It’s October, the bears should be feeding on salmon, not plants.”

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2020 من Canadian Geographic.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2020 من Canadian Geographic.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC مشاهدة الكل
ANIMAL XING
Canadian Geographic

ANIMAL XING

THIS PAST SUMMER AN AMBITIOUS WILDLIFE UNDER/OVERPASS SYSTEM BROKE GROUND IN B.C. ON A DEADLY STRETCH OF HIGHWAY JUST WEST OF THE ALBERTA BORDER. HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
Unearthing a giant
Canadian Geographic

Unearthing a giant

Almost 30 years ago, paleontologist Elizabeth “Betsy” Nicholls made a discovery of colossal proportions

time-read
4 mins  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
WE DID THIS
Canadian Geographic

WE DID THIS

AS THE IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING BECOME INCREASINGLY EVIDENT, THE CONNECTIONS TO BIODIVERSITY LOSS ARE HARD TO IGNORE. CAN THIS FALL’S TWO KEY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES POINT US TO A NATURE-POSITIVE FUTURE?

time-read
10+ mins  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
The COOLEST COUNTRY
Canadian Geographic

The COOLEST COUNTRY

“The coolest country” celebrates the wonders of winter with an all-Canadian theme. The 20-page travel planner includes a bucket list from travel writer Robin Esrock, steamy spa ideas, ice fishing destinations, festival fun, northern itineraries and more!

time-read
10+ mins  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
KEEPER of the SEA
Canadian Geographic

KEEPER of the SEA

FROM BEING LABELLED DEVIL’S APRON BY FRUSTRATED FISHERMEN TO BEING LAUDED AS A SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOLUTION: HOW KELP’S POTENTIAL IS BEING REALIZED, JUST AS SCIENTISTS LEARN IT’S DECLINING

time-read
10+ mins  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
WILD THINGS
Canadian Geographic

WILD THINGS

WILD CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC PRESENTS THE WINNERS OF ITS ANNUAL CANADIAN WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR COMPETITION

time-read
5 mins  |
Canadian Geographic November/December 2021, Vol. 141, No. 6
AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE
Canadian Geographic

AN EMPTY LANDSCAPE

AFTER MORE THAN A MILLION YEARS ON EARTH, CARIBOU ARE UNDER THREAT OF GLOBAL EXTINCTION. THE PRECIPITOUS DECLINE OF THE ONCE MIGHTY HERDS IS A TRAGEDY THAT IS HARD TO WATCH — AND EVEN HARDER TO REVERSE.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September/October 2021
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
Canadian Geographic

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

BON INTO A CARIBOU-HUNTING CREE FAMILY IN NORTHERN MANITOBA, ACCLAIMED PLAYWRIGHT AND NOVELIST. TOMSON HIGHWAYS PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MAGICAL WORLD OF HIS CHILDHOOD IN PERMANENT ASTONISHMENT

time-read
5 mins  |
September/October 2021
INTO THE ARCTIC
Canadian Geographic

INTO THE ARCTIC

CANADIAN PAINTER AND FILMMAKER CORY TRÉPANIER EXPLORES THE SUBLIME AND RAPIDLY CHANGING CANADIAN ARCTIC

time-read
4 mins  |
September/October 2021
Under the ice
Canadian Geographic

Under the ice

Until the last decade, we knew little about what lay beneath the Arctic ice. Now scientists and explorers are shedding light on this vanishing world.

time-read
3 mins  |
September/October 2021