More grizzly bear photographs at http://www.pbase.com/bears/

You have to make it to the mainland to have any grizzy bear sightings. You can drive up to Campbell River on Vancouver Island and take a boat tour to Knight's Inlet during salmon season (around mid-August) and you will be guaranteed to see grizzly bears in their natural habitat. There are also some great bear watching tours (they're all expensive) up north near Bella Coola and Prince Rupert along the coastal mainland of British Columbia. I've heard particularly amazing things about the Great Bear Rainforest in that area and plan to visit this summer.

There are two places to photograph captive grizzly bears in and around Vancouver:

Grouse Mountain:
The Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife has provided a home and a second chance at life for four orphaned grizzly bear cubs. Grinder and Coola arrived in September 2001 and were joined in August 2002 by Cari and Boo. Cari and Boo were relocated to Golden, BC to anchor the second phase of the grizzly bear rehabilitation project. The transfer marked the second phase in the project, bringing researchers one step closer to developing a protocol for the rehabilitation and possible re-release of future orphaned grizzly cubs. Following the transfer of Cari & Boo to Golden, BC, Grinder and Coola reclaimed the entire 5-acre grizzly bear habitat at Grouse Mountain. The move effectively doubled their previous terrain and provided numerous avenues for stimulation and additional discovery. Grouse Mountain is in North Vancouver. The bears are in a decent sized habitat and you really have to climb up against the fence and shoot through the fence to photograph them. Still, the bears are extermely active and will come out to their little reservoir to play fight. I saw them play for more than an hour.

The Vancouver Zoo
Shadow the grizzy bear was found as an orphaned cub. Apparently, she was extremely malnourished and would have died. The zoo created a special habitat for her and she has flourished - she has lots of areas to hide from the public and the zoo ensures she has lots of room to play and roam. The zoo has a wonderful viewing platform where you can photograph without an annoying fence. The zoo itself is okay. Some animals have fairly decent habitats, while others (like the squirrel and spider monkeys) are in the most despicable small cages. I've seen these monkeys in the wild and their range is huge and these clever monkeys need more stimulation than the couple of small monkey bars the zoo provides. I don't understand zoos sometimes. The zoo itself is about a 45 minute drive from Vancouver. It's very close to Langley.

Please leave your advice about photographing grizzy bears in British Columbia