Did you know that WildSmart is a program of the Biosphere Institute, a local charity? Our work relies entirely on donations and sponsors. If you would like to support our community-based efforts to promote human-wildlife coexistence, please donate!
The information below is based upon a compilation of bear information provided by government agencies and unconfirmed sightings reported by the public over the last week. It is not intended to be used as a real-time, complete record of where bears are in the valley.
BEAR ACTIVITY UPDATE (Oct.5-12, 2023)
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
Bears continue to dominate the news! Parks Canada has issued a town-wide bear warning for Banff due to multiple black and grizzly bears frequenting area, there is a bear closure on the Legacy Trail at the Canmore Nordic Centre due to a close encounter between a bear and a member of the public resulting in bear spray being deployed, and a black bear was captured on Tuesday in Canmore after repeatedly feeding in fruit trees. The bear was relocated and released yesterday.
This is more sad news and serves as yet another harsh reminder that residents and visitors need to ensure ALL wildlife attractants are either removed or properly secured, including but not limited to: garbage, recycling, pet food, fruit trees, pumpkins, compost, greasy bbq's, commercial waste bins/dumpsters and bird feeders. Removing/securing all of these food sources could save a bear's life!
A black bear was trapped and relocated out of Canmore on Tuesday after feeding in fruit trees.
Bear activity remains high and the trails in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country continue to be busy with people and with fairly warm temperatures ahead, people should be expecting to see bears (both black and grizzly) and bear signs. It is important to be prepared before leaving the house and that includes checking for trail warnings and closures, planning to travel in a group, leaving pets at home if you are not able to keep them on a leash, and bringing bear spray and knowing how to use it. In case of those surprise encounters, people should be able to deploy their bear spray in under 3 seconds. Be extra alert on the trails and if you see fresh signs of bears (i.e. scat, tracks) and consider turning around to give the bears space.
Additional ways to give bears space and keep people and wildlife safe include:
Choosing to recreate in areas that do not have closures and warnings in place, and avoiding areas where bears have been recently seen.
Recreating during daylight hours. Avoid being out on the trails systems at night when there is an increased possibility of coming into close proximity or contact with a bear due to darkness, especially during high-speed activities such as trail-running and mountain biking.
Motorists need to slow down when passing wildlife roadside, obey speed limits and be extra alert (especially at dawn and dusk) as the days are getting shorter and the number of darkness hours are increasing.
Fresh bear scat (with fruit) on the Montane Traverse trail last weekend in Canmore. Always be aware of your surroundings!
Elk continue to be seen and heard bugling along trails and in wide open fields such as school yards and playing fields around town, which means you may have to choose an alternate route while out for a walk/run/ride. Male elk are particularly protective of any female elk they are with, and there continue to be reports of large rutting bull elk showing aggression towards people getting too close. Give plenty of space to ALL ELK (at least 30 metres or 3 bus lengths), never try to sneak past them, never get between a male elk and the female elk and keep pets on a leash. More information about elk encounters here.
Bow hunting season is now open in the Bow Valley so please be aware of your surroundings and stay clear of dead animals. Hunters need to be cautious as due to the nature of their activity, they are intentionally being quiet on the landscape. They should always be bear aware and carry bear spray with them while out hunting!
Never try to sneak past elk as they are wild animals that need their space and can react unpredictably! Give them at least 30m of space, which is 3 school bus lengths.
VIEW CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES
As mentioned above, Parks Canada has issued a bear warning for the Town of Banff due to multiple black and grizzly bears frequenting area. Read more in this article: Banff under town-wide bear warning.
You can also submit your report using the Report-A-Poacher Online form or contact your local district Fish and Wildlife office.
SOME THINGS TO ‘BEAR’ IN MIND
Bow Valley residents need to be aware of and concerned that attractants such as fruit trees pose a safety risk to people and the survival of bears! Coexisting with wildlife in the Bow Valley means removing forbidden fruit BEFORE it is ripe, and the best long-term solution is to remove the fruit tree and replace it with a non-fruit-bearing alternative. Consider having some friendly conversations (not confrontations) with your neighbours and fellow residents about the importance of removing fruit to keep people and wildlife safe in the Bow Valley!
Bears are so focused on food this time of year that they are more likely to take risks, like coming into town and backyards to feed in fruit trees. Letting a bear access these higher calorie items such as crabapples won't do it any favours. Once they try these food sources they can learn that towns provide easy meals, meaning they're more likely to stick around and come back. This can become a public safety issue as bears can get protective of food sources, leading to conflicts between bears and humans, with bears normally paying the price by getting relocated or destroyed.
Ever wonder how many calories are in the ‘unnatural’ foods provided by people vs. the ‘natural’ foods provided by nature? It’s no wonder bears are willing to take the risk to access these higher calorie ‘unnatural’ foods.
Click on this image from the Living With Bears Handbook to find out more about calorie counts (and how they're broken down). Copyright 2015 Linda Masterson.
Trail Users with Dogs:
Please complete this 15-minute online survey that is geared towards trail user choice related to dogs (on leash and off leash). The survey is open until Oct.15. They want to hear from anyone who has a dog that uses the trails in the Bow Valley and K-Country.
Click on image for the Kananaskis Wildlife & Trail Survey geared towards trail users with dogs.
WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WORDS OF WISDOM
Living and recreating safely in bear country means understanding many things, from signs that bears are around, to what to do in a bear encounter. As we wander in the wilderness (or even in town sites) we are travelling in a bear’s home: their living areas, dining areas, and even their bathrooms. Recognizing the food sources that bears are currently eating can help raise your awareness of the possibility that bears are around where you are at any given moment. Every month we’re going to look at what bears are eating right now, and for the next few weeks, and in this edition of What are the Bears eating today? by Derek Ryder, Volunteer Wildlife Ambassador & IGA Interpretive Guide, it is Ground Squirrels.
It’s the time of year when the diets of Grizzly and Black bears have diverged. Grizzlies started moving out of the valleys and into the alpine weeks ago. Black bears find slightly higher elevations but den much lower than their grizzly counterparts. By this time next month, half of the grizzlies and virtually all of the black bears will be in dens (and the ski season will have started, even though this week doesn’t feel like it).
Black bears’ thoughts in October turn to grasses and insects. In October 2020, I was doing a Wildlife Ambassador rove in Riverside Park in downtown Canmore and found a great big pile of bear scat. It was nothing but the lush green grass growing in the park. Bears are smart and always are eating the best thing available. One of our wildlife coexistence challenges in the Canmore area is we plant and lovingly tend good ‘ole grass in our parks, which is demonstrably a wildlife attractant. Riverside had bear poop, deer poop and elk poop in it – and a herd of elk napping in the trees nearby on a busy Sunday. And we all know how many bears have been removed from town because of fruit trees and other attractants. Click here to read Derek’s full article about Ground Squirrels!
Click on this image of Ground Squirrels to read the full article!
WEEKLY WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WHEREABOUTS
In case you have not seen them yet, our amazing Volunteer Wildlife Ambassadors have been heading out onto trails and trailheads to talk to people about responsible trail use and staying safe while recreating in bear country. Note: the locations they go to may change at the last minute.
Sunday October 15 - Banff Central Park and Recreation Grounds
Keep an eye out for the Wildlife Ambassadors next time you are out on the trails in the Bow Valley and K-Country and be sure to say hi and have a chat with them!
WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS
WildSmart was on CTV Calgary to talk about the current bear warnings and closures.
The Boss is back in Banff and residents are urged to do their part to keep the grizzly safe.
'Be prepared to encounter a bear at anytime' in Banff townsite, Parks Canada warns residents.
Grizzly bear family returns to Nelson, B.C., after attempted relocation.
Contentious debate of grizzlies and their place in Alberta comes amid provincial review of bear-protection policies.
Heading into bear country can be dangerous this time of year.
Squamish video highlights potential bear encounter risks for dogs and people.
2023 Fat Bear Week has crowned its winner – a "queen that's thicker than a bowl of oatmeal".
Breathtaking footage shows wolves chasing down a massive elk herd in Yellowstone.
Bear warning not enough to scare off hikers and bikers in Bragg Creek.
Black bear steals gummy bears from Vancouver Island store in B.C.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
Bears need a healthy fat layer before they go into their deep sleep; it helps them to stay warm and provides calories to survive the winter. If they don’t gain enough fat reserves, they may wake up early in the spring or during the winter in a desperate attempt to find more food. If that fails, the bear may face starvation. Female bears that do not have adequate fat reserves will not be able to reproduce. With that in mind, bears will continue to actively search for food in the coming weeks to pack on those extra few pounds before heading into their dens for the winter. As such, it is important that everyone remains vigilant and mentally prepared for possible encounters, and that all wildlife attractants are either removed or properly secured at home and on the trails.
Halloween is around the corner and with that, pumpkins are starting to make an appearance. Please be proactive and remember to keep pumpkins inside of windows and NOT outside on your doorstep. Pumpkins are a wildlife attractant to all sorts of animals, not just bears. You might think that your pumpkin is safe on a balcony, far off the ground, but bears are very good climbers. Check out this video of an ingenious bear climbing up onto a balcony.
Shape the Human-Wildlife Coexistence Implementation and Action Plan
The Town of Canmore is making an action plan for how humans and wildlife can coexist in the Canmore area. You have a voice in shaping the actions they take.
Living in the Bow Valley means we need to take extra care to keep wildlife alive and our human communities safe.
They are seeking to understand barriers, gaps, and opportunities to make our community safer for humans and wildlife.
Help the Town understand how they can make it easier to take actions that support human-wildlife coexistence. Take their short and anonymous survey until Oct. 31, 2023 by clicking below!
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
The results are in and the crowned champion of Fat Bear Week 2023 is Grazer! #128 Grazer topped #32 Chunk to become Fat Bear Week 2023 champion. This is Grazer’s first win, though she has been a familiar presence for years on the Brooks River at Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. She has even earned a reputation among fellow bears. “Grazer is a particularly defensive mother bear who has successfully raised two litters of cubs,” according to Fat Bear Week’s website. “She often preemptively confronts and attacks much larger bears – even large and dominant adult males – in order to ensure her cubs are safe.” Katmai noted many bears remembered 128 Grazer and steered clear this summer, even though she wasn't looking after cubs.
Click on this image to meet and learn more about #128 Grazer!
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 16 - EARTH TALKS: Firesmarting the Bow Valley
Attendees will learn the answers to some very important questions:
How do we “FIRESMART” our homes, our community, and surrounding parks and wildlands?
Is what we’ve already done good enough – or do we need to do more?
What lessons can First Nations teach us when it comes to Firesmarting?
Can we combine Firesmarting with habitat enhancement? If so, what does it look like?
We’ll also have a question period and discussion. Join us on October 16 at 7pm to discuss! If you can’t join in person, tune in online through Zoom. You can register for this free workshop here.
October 18 - Climate Emergency Action Plan Webinar#1 (6:00-7:00 PM)
Join the Town of Canmore for an interactive online conversation where they will help you understand the current sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Canmore and unique risks that climate change poses to our community and to the wildlife who call the Bow Valley home.
Share your input about how ready you feel to take actions in your life to reduce greenhouse gases and help them understand your concerns and attitudes about climate change adaptation.
October 20 - Reusable Cup Survey deadline
Our friends at Habitus Collective have launched this reusable cup survey! Submit your input on reusable programs in Banff whether you live or visit here! The survey will remain open until October 20th and those who complete the survey can enter their email address for a $100 restaurant gift card!
Scan QR code for reusable cup survey!
November 17 - Biosphere Institute's 2nd Annual Do-Si-Do Square Dance Fundraiser
We have opened ticket sales for our 2nd Annual Square Dance Fundraiser on November 17, 2023 from 6:30 PM at the Cornerstone Theatre in Canmore! The most fun you can have with your boots on! Last year's event was a huge success and tickets sold quickly!
All are welcome! We welcome young and old cowboys, cowgirls, and cowpals for some boot stomp’n fun!! We will be offering a silent auction throughout the evening where all proceeds will go to supporting our work.
Click on this image to buy your tickets now!
Please remember BEARS CAN BE ENCOUNTERED ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!
Report any sightings of a bear, cougar, wolf or any aggressive wildlife in Kananaskis Country or the Bow Valley to Kananaskis Emergency Services at 403.591.7755