What wildlife do you typically see on your Chilkoot Lake Nature and Wildlife Viewing tour?
The most common wildlife we see along the Chilkoot River are bald eagles. There are several active bald eagle nests in the area. We often see harbor seals at the mouth of the river. Common mergansers (a type of fish-eating duck) are often seen near Chilkoot Lake. A variety of gulls are commonly seen. During migration, other types of waterfowl utilize the Chilkoot Corridor. We rarely see black bear or moose on this tour, but brown bear sightings are common during the later part of the season (more on that below).
What species of bear do you see along the Chilkoot River?
We primarily see brown bear (Ursus arctos). Black bear (Ursus americanus) are rarely seen along the Chilkoot River.
Is your Chilkoot Lake Nature and Wildlife Viewing Tour sold as a “Bear Viewing” tour?
While bear can be seen on the tour, we do not advertise this as a bear viewing tour.
Do you guarantee bear sightings on your Chilkoot Lake Nature and Wildlife Viewing tour?
No, we never guarantee wildlife sightings of any kind.
If I want a guaranteed bear sighting, what should I do?
First of all, don’t sign up for our tour! We don’t want you to be disappointed.
Guaranteed bear sightings are possible at Steve Kroschel’s Wildlife Center in Haines and The Fortress of Bear tour in Sitka. Those bears are in enclosures so sightings are guaranteed.
When will we have the best chance of seeing bear?
The odds of seeing a bear on our Chilkoot Lake Nature and Wildlife Viewing tour increases as the summer goes on. This is because the pink salmon, which attract the bear to the river, start their run upstream in early August. Based on our experience, we use this “ rule of thumb”:
- Before August 1st, the odds are less than 25 percent that you will see a bear.
- Aug 1st to Aug 10th: 50 percent chance of seeing a bear
- Aug 10th to 20th: 60 percent chance of seeing a bear
- Aug 20th to 30th: 70 percent chance of seeing a bear
- Sept 1-30th: 80 percent chance of seeing a bear
Of course, each tour is different. There may be a bear out on the river five minutes before your tour arrives, but as your group arrives, the bear has left. Your tour may spend an hour along the river waiting for a bear to appear with no bears sighted. Then, five minutes after your tour leaves, a bear or family of bears come out to the river to catch a fish. You may see several bear catching salmon along the river at one time and the next tour might see none. Such are the joys and challenges of wildlife viewing. These are wild animals and they are not predictable.
I notice other groups get closer to the bears than our group. Why don’t your guides let us get as close as the others?
Safety is our number one priority. This includes safety for ourselves, our guests and the bears. There are individuals and groups along the Chilkoot that do not follow safe and ethical wildlife viewing protocols. If an individual person and a bear have a negative encounter and someone is hurt, that person could be seriously injured. The bear will most likely be killed and the area could be closed to tourism. We do not want any of these things to happen.
