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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: Sep.24-OCT.1, 2021
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
Unfortunately bears were in the news this past week and they continue to be seen regularly in the Bow and Kananaskis Valleys as they actively search for food for the next month and a half to fatten up for their winter hibernation.
Black bears are being seen multiple times daily in residential areas throughout the Bow Valley, drawn into town by people letting fruit accumulate on the trees and ground in their yards, as well as other attractants such as pet food, garbage, recycling and bird feeders. Four black bears have recently been trapped in Canmore and relocated elsewhere. Bears that gain access to these food sources in town can lose their natural fear of people, which increases the possibility of human-wildlife conflict. These bears can cause injury to people and pets, or destroy property, which results in bears being relocated or destroyed. Relocated bears generally have a fairly low chance of survival, which is further reduced in the fall just prior to denning.
Last weekend, there were two human-bear incidents in Southern Alberta - both a result of people surprising a grizzly bear sow with cubs and that bear reacting aggressively to defend her cubs. Luckily there were no human fatalities but two people were injured. It is also worth noting that bear spray was not deployed in either incident, likely due to that fact that both encounters were surprise defensive encounters that happened very quickly. This emphasizes the importance of being able to pull out and deploy your bear spray in under 3 seconds which requires lots of practice! For more tips on how to reduce the risk of close encounters click here.
Black bears in a residential area near Canmore. Photo by Derek Ryder.
Even though bears are being seen regularly, we all still need to be very vigilant of elk at the moment. Male elk are particularly protective of any female elk they are with, and may become aggressive towards anything that comes too close. Give plenty of space to ALL ELK (at least 30 metres or 3 bus lengths), never get between a male elk and the female elk and keep pets on a leash. If an elk charges (usually because you are much too close), 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. Never approach elk to take pictures up close as they are wild animals that need their space and can react unpredictably!
Elk frequently hang out 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 - have a conversation with your 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.
VIEW CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES
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
Four black bears have recently been trapped and relocated from the Canmore area! After speaking with wildlife officials, they asked us to pose this question to you…
Are you concerned about any of the following issues?
Your kids encountering a bear while walking or biking to school
Your kids being kept inside at recess because of bears on the school grounds
Having trees and other property damaged by bears frequenting residential areas
Encountering bears sleeping in your backyard or on your deck
Encountering bears eating fruit from your fruit tree or dog food from the dog bowl on the deck
Encountering bears in the street while out walking your dog
Encountering bears while at the playground with your kids
People being injured by bears
Pets being injured by bears
Trails being closed because of aggressive encounters between bears and people
Wildlife staff trapping and relocating bears, sometimes with small cubs, to unfamiliar areas where survival is questionable (particularly in the fall just prior to denning)
Wildlife staff having to destroy bears because they pose a public safety concern to the community
If any of these are a concern to you – then wildlife officials ask that we all work together to stop encouraging bears to come into town. That means we all need to STOP feeding them by removing all potential wildlife attractants from our yards, including fruit from our trees and ground, berries, pet food, garbage, bird feeders, recycling and greasy bbq’s.
Failure to do so will result in the cycle of bears coming into town, creating public safety concerns, and then being removed, to continue for years and years to come. YOU can make a difference; please act responsibly and refrain from feeding wildlife in town!
WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS
A solo hiker who was attacked by a grizzly bear with cubs last weekend in Kananaskis.
CBC article about both the solo hiker and hunters who had surprise encounters with grizzly sows with cubs just hours apart.
A black bear has been trapped and relocated out of Canmore after a rise in bear activity in residential neighbourhoods.
Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers have trapped three bears in Canmore.
Another ”surprise defensive attack” by a grizzly bear in northern B.C. leaves a man hiking alone seriously injured.
Alberta Fish & Wildlife discuss the increase in bear reports in Alberta this year!
Similar to Canmore, Castlegar, B.C. is asking residents to manage bear attractants to keep their community safe and avoid the preventable destruction of bears.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
What are the Bears eating today? by Derek Ryder, Wildlife Ambassador and IGA Interpretive Guide
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 bears’ homes: their living areas, dining areas, and even their bathrooms. Recognizing food that bears are currently eating can help raise your awareness of the possibility that bears are around where you are at any given moment. In this series of articles, each month, we’re going to look at what bears are eating right now, and for the next few weeks.
In October, as berry season fades in the valleys and frost kills the berry plants, most Grizzlies are now up in the alpine. Now that they’re up there, the first and easiest plant they’ll find to eat is Cow Parsnip with their tall, distinctive white flowers. Remember, bears hunt with their noses and Cow Parsnip flowers… stink. Find a marshy, wet spot, or creek or river course anywhere in K-Country, and you’ll find Cow Parsnip. You can’t miss it by late September; it has grown to 6’ tall before deep freezes (which we have not had yet) kill it off. And best for bears: the roots are still edible after it’s dead.
Grizzlies eat Cow Parsnip in both spring and fall shoulder seasons. All parts of the Cow Parsnip are edible for bears. Stems and roots are high in fibre but low in protein, only on the order of 10%; leaves are up to 30% protein. However, given their druthers (and a lot of Cow Parsnip), they’ll first eat the stems, next dig up the roots, and skip leaves entirely. The leaves are huge and can’t be missed, as shown in the photo above. One dead giveaway a bear has been chowing down on Cow Parsnip is a sea of dead Cow Parsnip leaves around chopped off stems. That’s a common sight at this time of year in places like the Commonwealth Valley on the way to the Birdwood Lakes, or in Pocaterra & Ptarmigan Cirque – where everyone goes to see larches at that time! It’s no wonder we have conflict at larch season. Anywhere you’ll find larches, you’ll find Cow Parsnip – and grizzly bears.
Cow Parsnip may be good for bears, but it’s not wise for you to touch it. It contains furanocoumarins in the plant’s sap. Get that on your skin and expose it to a bit of sunlight and I guarantee you’ll get itchy, red rashes and possibly blisters. The Bow Valley Stewards remove Cow Parsnip from places like Camp Chief Hector, and whenever we do that, we almost have to wear hazmat suits.
That having been said, if you can figure out how NOT to get sap on you, Cow Parsnip is really edible. Peel the outer stem, and you can eat the inner stem raw or by cooking it. Dig up the roots and you have yourself something similar to a parsnip (probably why they’re called Cow Parsnip, but I’m not enough of a biologist to know if the two plants are related). If you see dead Cow Parsnip stems, you’ll note they are fibrous, tough and hollow; you can make flutes and whistles from them, but realize those furanocoumarins may still be there and your lips could sting.
Cow Parsnip would also be on a Black Bear’s diet list, except there’s not much Cow Parsnip in the Bow Valley. Plus, research shows Black Bears seem to prefer their Cow Parsnip more in spring than fall. Instead, Black Bears around town eat grasses and kinnikinnik spring and fall either side of berry season. The black bear scat I’ve seen in the last few weeks down in the valley has been just that. The photo above is scat from one of the three black bears hanging in my neighbourhood and pooping on our streets.
If you’re going larch-peeping, keep your eyes out for Cow Parsnip. If you see a dense patch like the one in the picture (and yes, every white dot is a Cow Parsnip, and most aren’t even flowering), make a ton of noise, and watch for tall plants swaying where they shouldn’t be. Watch along your way for giant dead leaves and possibly dug up plants. These are the dead giveaways you’ve just walked into a bear’s dining room, and they aren’t paying attention to you.
CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Biosphere Institute is seeking a new Executive Director. Click image below for more info.
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
With all the negative press that bears have been getting this past week due to several attacks and relocations, here is a more pawsitive video of mother and cub having some fun, just like humans, to try and show people that bears are not scary animals that everyone should fear! Instead, people should respect them and try to understand WHY they do the things they do. Just like humans, mother bears will defend their cubs from threats, just like human mothers will defend their kids from threats. As such, we all need to respect the fact that we are in their home and that we should all be doing our best to avoid potential dangerous encounters, as most of the time they are our fault.
Important note: This video is not meant to promote bears in residential areas. It is meant to show that mother bears like to play with and care for their cubs just like human mothers, and that they are not vicious animals that we need to fear. We just need to respect them and give them space.
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