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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.15-22, 2021)
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
Bear activity in the Bow Valley and K-Country has slowed down a bit but bears continue to be seen in town and out on the trails. 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, 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. Keep yourself and your neighbourhood safe.
After all the bears that have been relocated from Canmore over the past month, it is a bit surprising and disappointing to see so many pumpkins sitting outside on doorsteps throughout Canmore. 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.
Do not provide wildlife with easy meals like pumpkins. Keep them inside to avoid getting wildlife into trouble. Photo by Coral Lukaniuk.
As you can read about in the article in the news section below, a cougar followed two hikers and their dog at close range for over 20 minutes along the Highline Trail in the Three Sisters Area last weekend. The encounter occurred at dusk, when cougars are often active and it is unknown if the dog was on a leash. This serves as a good reminder to hike/bike/run in a group, stay close together keeping children close by, try to avoid recreating at dusk, dawn or at night, keep pets on a leash and carry bear spray year-round in an easily accessible location.
There is a Cougar Warning in the Canmore area between the Rider’s of Rohan trail and the Middle Sister trail due to a report of a cougar approaching people in the area.
Large herds of elk hanging out along the busy river trails in Canmore this week. 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.
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.
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
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.
The short video below has some excellent reminders about how to handle cougar encounters. The only thing to mention is that in most situations we recommend NOT to maintain eye contact with a bear. In a surprise encounter situation with a bear – where you are trying to diffuse the situation – you should not make eye contact – it is a dominant move that can further antagonize the bear. Although this video comes from Washington, it is very relevant to the Bow Valley.
WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS
Close encounter with a cougar prompts warning in the Canmore area.
Parks Canada chopping down fruit trees in Field to stop luring hungry bears into town.
Whistler woman fined $60K for feeding bears believed she was helping animals.
Female grizzly bear and three cubs were killed by a train east of Elko, B.C.
Fish & Wildlife confirms a black bear sow with two cubs were killed in Canmore in August.
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.
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.
I’ve seen this happen in real time in the wilderness; I watched a grizzly bear dig a 10’ long trench 2’ deep in under 3 minutes. It was like watching a roto-rooter at work. And the prize: one whole lot of calories that won’t run or fight back. The photo is what’s left after this happens. Best part for the grizz? A couple of inches of snow makes it easier to find the holes; they have enough heat coming out of them to create dimples of partial melt. You can find these dig remnants in the spring the moment the snow melts. Every bear den I have visited to help with research featured nearby remnant digs for ground squirrels. Digs like this are a common sight in places like Chester Lakes, Burstall Pass, Rummel Lake, Commonwealth Lakes, Ptarmigan Cirque and Pocaterra Cirque.
But grizzlies are very opportunistic when it comes to eating. While digs for ground squirrels pre-denning is common, bears also understand elk rutting season. It is hard work being a male elk trying to be dominant, and if you place 2nd or 3rd that year in the hierarchy, you expended a LOT of energy and end up in a weakened state but didn’t get anywhere. You’re still recovering from that osteoporosis that stole calcium from your bones to make a big set of antlers, and you might be injured from the fighting with other males. Guess what? In your weakened state, you’re a target for a grizzly bear.
What still impresses me is how late in the season research cameras capture the biggest male grizzly bears “out and about”. I always wonder exactly what food this particular bear was eating in the second week of January in 2013. Because even though this will be the last in our series of “What are bears eating today?” some will still be up and about for several months to come. Keep that bear spray handy despite the snow!
CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Biosphere Institute is seeking a Program Associate. Click image below for more info.
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
Spirit bears of coastal B.C. are black bears with a gene mutation that turns their fur white. As it turns out, their white fur is a great camouflage when fishing. As this story details, a scientist at University of Victoria has discovered the advantage their white fur gives them for catching dinner.
The full research study can be viewed by clicking here.
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