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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 SUMMARY (Oct.13-20, 2022)
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
Bear activity in the Bow Valley and K-Country has slowed down but that does not mean they are not around. Bears will be actively searching for food to pack on those extra few pounds before heading into their dens for the winter. If you don't want a bear in your yard, or to get relocated or destroyed, make sure you don't provide it with a meal! Please remove or secure all attractants such as fruit (on trees and on the ground), PUMPKINS, birdfeeders, unsecured garbage, greasy bbq's and pet food. You can help keep yourself, the bears and your neighbourhood safe.
Do not leave garbage on the ground next to bins if they are full! In Canmore, call 403.678.1580 if you see a bin that needs to be emptied. In Banff, if the bins are full call 403.762.1240 or report it online at banff.ca/action.
After all the bears that have been relocated from Canmore over the past month, it is a bit concerning to see so many pumpkins sitting outside on doorsteps throughout town. Pumpkins are a wildlife attractant to all sorts of animals, not just bears, and we all need to do our best to avoid attracting wildlife into residential areas.
Make sure garbage bins are properly latched closed and secure. Photo by Coral Lukaniuk.
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. Parents need to have a conversation with their children about giving wildlife lots of space, not trying to sneak past wildlife on the trail and calmly leaving the area if they see elk or other wildlife on their commute to school.
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.
Large herds of elk hanging out along the busy river trails in Canmore. Give elk lots of space, at least 30m, and never try to sneak past them. Never get between a male elk and the female elk and keep pets on a leash.
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
A reminder that it is hunting season 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 carry bear spray and know how to use it, even if they are carrying a gun.
This is no time to be complacent out on the trails! People need to remain vigilant and mentally prepared for possible encounters as bears and other wildlife are still very active. This 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), consider turning around to give the bears space.
Our very own Ava is here with a great short video about the Invasive Doggy Poop Bag!
WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS
The mother black bear and cub that were relocated from Banff ended up coming back and were euthanized.
Watch this video of the college students talking about surviving a recent grizzly bear attack in Wyoming.
A bear was wandering around Cochrane looking for garbage.
Check out the view from this grizzly bear den found in Idaho.
A bear was killed in Tofino on Saturday, Oct. 1 after frequenting unsecured attractants at local restaurants.
A 10-year old boy in Connecticut was attacked by a black bear in his grandparent’s yard.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
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.
Here are some reasons why you should not keep your pumpkins outside on your doorstep.
Don’t provide wildlife with easy meals like pumpkins. Keep them inside to avoid getting wildlife like this deer into trouble. Photo by Parks Canada.
WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WORDS OF WISDOM
What are the Bears eating today? by Derek Ryder, Volunteer Wildlife Ambassador & IGA Interpretive Guide
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.
Non-“domesticated” black bears that don’t live near cultivated areas would love that grass, but no one waters or fertilizes the wilderness. Yes, there are still berries around on late-blooming plants like Dogwood. When in doubt, black bears will always target kinnikinnik berries as a default; they are plentiful and stay on the plant all winter long so can be an ideal “bedtime snack”. But black bears are also using their sharp little claws to tear open logs and find ants and wasps. Insects like these are super high in protein and calories, and can be sniffed out.
Grizzlies, on the other hand, take advantage of their high alpine denning areas to target the perfect bedtime snack: ground squirrels and marmots. All of these species went into their dens to hibernate in late August and the last ones are zonked out by mid-September. By mid October, virtually nothing will wake them. Columbian Ground squirrels in particular are very easy prey. They have a very specific nesting pattern: two access holes about 20’ apart connected by an underground tunnel. In the middle is a communal nesting chamber with 5-10 squirrels in it. All the bear has to do is stick their nose in a bunch of holes, find two that smell exactly the same, and then dig between them. Click here or on the image below to read Derek’s full article about Ground Squirrels!
Click on this image of Ground Squirrels to read the full article!
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
WildSmart had the priviledge of attending and presenting at the 6th International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop in South Lake Tahoe Nevada this past week. It was great to speak with bear biologists and human-bear conflict specialists from around the world. The underlying theme was certainly that humans are responsible for most of the human-bear coexistence issues around the world, and we will continue to do our best to educate humans as to how they can better coexist with bears in the Bow Valley!
A view of the conference room this past week in South Lake Tahoe.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Do-Si-Do Square Dance for the Biosphere!
We are officially sold out for our Do-Si-Do for the Biosphere Square Dance! Sorry to all who missed being able to buy a ticket! But don’t worry this Square Dance will be an annual event! If you couldn't buy a ticket this time we hope to see you there next year! We look forward to seeing everyone who bought a ticket on October 28th! Yeehaw!
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