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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
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park) For the period: August 6 to August 13, 2021
Bears are being drawn to the berry crop in town, as the buffaloberry crop in the mountains is not at the ideal level, resulting in numerous sightings being reported this past week in the Bow Valley. This has resulted in several more warnings to be put in place to give the bears the space they need to feed undisturbed, and in an effort to keep people safe.
It is recommended that residents remove all berry producing plants from their yards and avoiding areas where bears have been seen or where active warnings have been put in place to reduce the risk of encounters.
People should be making lots of noise to alert any bears in the area of their presence! Bears have their heads down and are focused on eating berries which increases the chance of surprise encounters. Garbage continues to be a concern with people leaving garbage along trails and in day use areas. It is OUR responsibility to make sure that garbage finds its way into a bear proof bin. If the garbage bin is full, find another bin or pack your garbage out with you.
SOME THINGS TO ‘BEAR’ IN MIND
Be prepared and on the lookout for bears feeding on buffaloberries while you recreate, as many berry bushes are found along popular trails. All trail users should have a heightened awareness, keep dogs on a leash, carry bear spray in an easily accessible location on their person, know how to use it and make lots of noise to alert bears of their presence.
There continues to be a bear warning for the area near the engine bridge in Canmore due to a black bear sow with cubs in the area.
Motorists are reminded to obey posted speed limits and slow down near roadside wildlife but not to stop and cause (or be part of) a bear jam on the highway. Keep moving in order to give bears the space they need to feed and to help combat roadside habituation of wildlife.
BEARS IN THE NEWS
A black bear has been put down after attacking a hiker near Vanderhoof, B.C.
The grizzly bear that fatally mauled a Montana man near Yellowstone National Park this spring was likely defending a moose carcass.
Read about how a Calgary naturalist recounts memorable sighting of grizzly bear family along with some great safety tips.
10 Things to Shout at a Bear That Aren’t "Hey Bear!" Mix up your bear calls with some expert suggestions.
Food for Thought?
Canmore residents can be fined for letting fruit and berries accumulate on trees and on the ground in their yards.
NOW is the time to remove fruit (such as crabapple, mountain ash and chokecherry) before you have a bear in your tree. Leaving fruit in your trees can attract bears into residential areas, putting bears and people at risk. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure that bears do not have a reason to linger in your yard.
WildSmart has pruning shears and extendable fruit pickers that can be borrowed (free of charge) to assist Bow Valley residents in removing fruit and berry bushes from their property. Please send an email to info@wildsmart.ca to make arrangements to borrow the fruit picking equipment.
Extendable fruit picker that can be borrowed from WildSmart.
If you prefer to remove your fruit tree, the Town of Canmore is running a Voluntary Fruit Tree Removal Incentive Program. More information and details about how to participate can be found on their website.
For more information on areas in the Bow Valley frequented by bears at this time of year visit our human-bear conflict summary map.
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
Oral histories over the course of more than 200 years from Inuit in Northern Canada and in Greenland depict stories of polar bears using tools such as rocks and blocks of ice to kill walruses. These stories have been passed on verbally to explorers and naturalists by their Inuit guides, based on local Inuit TEK (traditional ecological knowledge). While polar bears are known for being worthy opponents in the Arctic, questions remained about how they managed some of their largest kills, such as walruses.
Source: Charles Francis Hall, Library of Congress
Using these histories and documentation of brown bears using tools in captivity, Canadian zoologist and marine biologist Ian Sterling and colleagues set out to prove that polar bears use tools to hunt.
The study, published in the June edition of the journal Arctic, details various accounts of polar bears using blocks of ice or rocks to bludgeon 1,000 kg walruses to death. It also describes GoGo, a young male polar bear in captivity, who opted to use tools to access meat that was suspended out of his reach.
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