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BEAR ACTIVITY SUMMARY FOR THE BOW VALLEY
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
For the period: October 18 to October 25, 2019
SUMMARY
The bears are certainly still out and about searching for food and bear activity within the Town of Canmore and other hamlets in the Bow Valley is still evident. Bears continue to be drawn into residential areas by people allowing fruit to accumulate on trees in their yards and there are plenty of piles of bear scat in peoples yards to prove it! Please do your part to keep wildlife WILD and outside of residential areas by removing all attractants such as fruit (both on trees and on the ground), grease on barbecues, pet food and garbage from your yard. By being proactive and removing thee attractants you could save a bear’s life!
Photo by Laurie Comrie
Elk continue to be seen along trails around town, in open fields, school yards and playing fields which means you may have to choose an alternate route while out for a walk/run/ride. A reminder that it is elk rutting season and that male elk are particularly protective of nearby female elk. They may become aggressive towards anything that comes too close. Give plenty of space to elk (at least 30 metres or 3 school bus lengths), never get between a male elk and a female elk, and be sure to keep pets on-leash. If an elk does charge be prepared to use your bear spray. Try to move behind a large object (e.g. car, large tree) and keep the object between you and the elk.
Halloween is just around the corner! Please be proactive to help keep your children and the children in your neighbourhood safe by placing pumpkins inside of windows and NOT on your doorstep. Pumpkins act as a wildlife attractant to all sorts of animals, not just bears. Pumpkins placed inside windows can still be enjoyed by trick-or-treaters, but you won’t end up with a nasty fright if a bear shows up on your doorstep. If you must put pumpkins outside on Halloween, make sure that you take them inside before going to bed. You might think that your pumpkin is safe outside on a balcony, far off the ground, but bears are very good climbers. Check this video of an ingenious bear climbing up onto a balcony.
Keep your doorstep bear free by placing pumpkins inside windows
The bear closure for the area surrounding Cougar Creek, from BURNCO pit area to Harvie Heights has been updated to a bear warning. The previous closure was put in place due to a hiker with an off leash dog that had an encounter with a sow and cubs; the hiker was nipped by the bear and bear spray was deployed. The warning includes but is not limited to the following trails: Cougar Creek, Grotto Mountain, Horseshoe Loop, Lady MacDonald, Echo Canyon, Montane Traverse, Johnny’s Trail, Meander Trail, Tidbits Quarry, Harvie Heights Ridge Traverse, Mount Charles Stewart, Outlier and Princess Margaret Trail (see map below).
This bear warning is should act as a reminder to KEEP DOGS ON A LEASH and CARRY BEAR SPRAY. Doing these two simple things could save your life, your pet’s life and a bear’s life! This recent article discusses this in more detail.
To reduce the risk of encounters with wildlife:
Make lots of noise in order to alert them to your presence.
Travel in tight groups, keeping children close by, and try to avoid hiking at dusk, dawn or at night.
Be aware of your surroundings (look and listen for wildlife and their signs, including tracks and scat) and be sure to check behind you while on the trails to make sure there are no animals following you. That includes not wearing earbuds/headphones, which will limit your ability to hear approaching wildlife.
KEEP DOGS ON-LEASH and remember to pick up after your dogs as their feces can act as an attractant for bears.
Do not leave any garbage or food items that have a smell outside as they may attract wildlife.
Carry bear spray YEAR-ROUND in an easily accessible location, know how to use it and be prepared to use it as it could save your life as well as your pet’s life! Bear spray has also been shown to be effective at deterring other wildlife such as cougars, wolves, coyotes and elk, and it should be carried along well-traveled trails in and around town. Close encounters with bears can happen in seconds so you need to be ready.
It is hunting season. Please be aware of your surroundings and stay clear of dead animals. Hunters should always carry and use bear spray as the first line of defense, even if they are carrying a gun.
CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES
Bear Warning - The area surrounding Cougar Creek, from BURNCO pit area to Harvie Heights due to a hiker with an off leash dog that had an encounter with a sow and cubs; the hiker was nipped by the bear and bear spray was deployed.
Bear Closure - Mount Lipsett Area, not including the Day Use Area, due to a grizzly bear feeding on a carcass.
Bear Closure - Rockwall Trail and the meadow located southeast of the Peter Lougheed Discovery Centre and extending 100 meters into timber around the meadow due to multiple bears in the area.
Bear Warning - Bow River Campground due to a black bear in the area.
*Bears are not only found in closure or warning areas. You should always remain alert while walking, hiking, running and biking, and remember that bears can be encountered anytime, anywhere!
Here is a list of some Annual Closures in Kananaskis Country.
A complete list of all warnings and closures is available here for anyone visiting the Bow Valley, Kananaskis Country and Alberta Parks.
A complete list of all warnings and closures is available here for Banff National Park.
For more information on areas in the Bow Valley frequented by bears at this time of year visit our human-bear conflict summary map.
The information above 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.
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
This summer the Banff IGA began selling T-shirts with messaging designed to increase wildlife awareness and encourage compliance with simple guidelines to help improve human-wildlife coexistence in the Bow Valley! This initiative was started by Banff resident Toni Pollmann - a concerned member of the community - with help from various like-minded individuals in the Bow Valley. Five dollars from every T-shirt sold was donated to WildSmart. The T-shirts were on sale until Sep.30 and yesterday they presented WildSmart with a cheque for $1,515!
Pictured from L to R: Toni Pollmann, Pauline Dionne and Nick de Ruyter
The following people graciously donated their time, energy and skills to help make this amazing project happen and we would like to take this opportunity to THANK them: Reno Sommerhalder, John E. Marriott, Marc Breau, Mark Carroll and Andrew Western at Flooded Ink.
Special thanks go out to Banff IGA Store Manager Pauline Dionne for supporting and facilitating this initiative, and to Toni Pollmann for her passion and enthusiasm in spearheading this project and making it a success!
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