Five days before this shot was taken, this young grizzly bear cub of the year didn’t even know what clams were. He had emerged down off the mountain of his birth with his mum and siblings, full of excitement and wonder as they discovered the Khutzeymateen estuary here on the BC coast. Now look at him, covered in mud from head to toe and looking like he’s been having a great time. It’s amazing to see how these young bears quickly learn and adapt to essential life skills. No sooner has mum shown them how to dig for these vital morsels of protein and they are digging for them too, although sometimes it’s just in the hole mum has left. It may take them a little longer to learn to smell the clams under the sand like mum does, but that skill soon comes too!
