BEAR ACTIVITY SUMMARY FOR THE BOW VALLEY
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park) For the period: June 26 to July 3, 2020
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.
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SUMMARY
Bears continue to be seen regularly along trails, roads, in and around town and in the valley bottoms where most of their available food is located. Expect to run into a bear while out on the trails and remember to make lots of noise, keep pets on a leash, carry bear spray and be prepared to use it in case of a close encounter.
An (unmarked) adult male grizzly bear was killed on the Trans Canada Highway east of Highway 40. Traffic volumes along the major roads are increasing, making it more difficult for wildlife to cross. Motorists need to obey speed limits and slow down accordingly when passing roadside wildlife.
Significant amounts of waste continue to be left in day use areas and discarded along trails. Some of this waste is left behind indirectly by the wind blowing garbage off of picnic tables or people’s laps while they are eating. This is no excuse and people need to conduct proper sweeps around their picnic areas and campsite in order to pick up any garbage that has been left behind. Being exposed to unnatural food sources such as garbage puts wildlife at risk and increases public safety concerns around human wildlife interactions. Pack out what you pack in and leave no trace behind when you are out on the trails. It is YOUR responsibility to clean up after yourself and your pets, so make sure you pack out your dog poop baggies too!
Most mother elk have now had their calves and the youngsters are up and running around. Female elk will still aggressively defend their calves by kicking and charging at you if they feel threatened. Be aware of your surroundings, even on popular and well visited trails around town and along the river. Stay at least 30 metres (3 school bus lengths) away from all elk and do not try to sneak past them on a trail! Keep pets on a leash and carry bear spray.
Buffaloberries will start to ripen in a few weeks and it looks like we can expect a good berry crop this year. Please be proactive and remove berry bushes from your yards NOW before you attract a bear into town. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure that bears do not have a reason to linger in your yard, resulting in bears being relocated or destroyed.
What are the Bears eating today? Part 3 in a Series by Derek Ryder, Wildlife Ambassador & 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.
Ask most folks what a bear’s favourite food is and “berries” are likely to be among the top answers. But it’s not berry season yet, and won’t be until late July. At this point, bears are still chowing down primarily on dandelions as I wrote about at the start of June. But even the dandelions are starting to go away (except in my neighbour’s yard). Between the end of dandelion season and the core of berry season, bears start to take advantage of the roots of the fresh growing plants.
Grizzly bears in particular are diggers. That's where those super big claws and those big shoulder muscles that form the hump come in handy. Bears dig for a lot of food, and leave a lot of evidence that they have been digging. This photo is of a black bear dig that I found this week (the same bears that have been eating my neighbourhood dandelions, I suspect). But what are they digging for?
One of the plant families they like is the pea family, here know as Sweet-Vetches, with the Latin family name Hedysarum. Grizzlies LOVE to dig for the roots of these plants, especially in the spring and fall out of berry season. In central BC, where there are fewer berries, studies have shown Hedysarum is actually their main summer food source.
We have several types of Hedysarum, and they get a bit confusing with all the names (Northern, Mackenzie, Utah, Yellow, Alpine and Western are just some of the varieties here), Generally speaking you can call them all Sweet-Vetch and you won't be too far wrong. Grizzlies in particular have a few they like, and you should get to know what they look like. The purple ones in these photos, and the most common in the area, are Northern Sweet-Vetch, H. borale or H. alpinium. We also have Yellow Sweet-Vetch, H. sulphurescens, which is similar, but are the whitish-yellow flowers.
All are somewhat vine-like, with massed, droopy small flowers on a long, straight stem. Northern Sweet-Vetch grows in patches, while Yellow tends to grow more solitarily (though my street has a HUGE strip of Yellow Sweet-Vetch on it as you can see in the picture). Later in the season (around mid-August) these plants will show their heritage and put out pea pods, and those are edible too. But bears like plants with DENSITY (lots of food in a small space means less work). There can be several hundred tasty roots on my street, but there will never be that many pea pods. While they might eat the pea pods, it’s generally not worth their effort.
Bears aren't the only ones who like Hedysarum roots; Indigenous peoples in North America ate them as well. They can be eaten raw (they have a bit of a sweet, liquorice like flavour), boiled, baked, or fried, and then they taste like carrots. The Yellow variety is not nearly as tasty to us, so look for the Northern or Alpine subspecies. If you want to try them, be sure not to confuse them with Timber Milkvetch, which is poisonous.
CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES
Bear Closure: Opal Day Use Area (in Spray Valley Provincial Park) due to bear activity in the area.
Bear Warning: Lower Lake Campground due to grizzly bears feeding in the area.
Bear Warning: Middle Lake Day Use Area and trail system due to multiple sightings of black bears and a grizzly with cubs in the Middle Lake area.
Bear Warning: Elbow Valley Trail between Ing's Mine and Sulphur Springs Trail due to a grizzly bear in the area.
Elk Warning: You may see warning signs like the one below posted in areas around Canmore where there have been regular incidents of aggressive female elk closing distance on people.
Click here for current information from Alberta Parks about visiting their parks during COVID-19. A complete list of all warnings and closures is available here for Alberta Parks in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country.
Click here for current information from Parks Canada about visiting their parks during COVID-19. A complete list of all warnings and closures is available here for Banff National Park.
Here is a list of some Annual Closures in Kananaskis Country.
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
We are excited to welcome seven new Wildlife Ambassadors to our program this year as well as all returning volunteers! The volunteer training session happened this past weekend at the Canmore Nordic Centre and although some of the procedures will be different due to COVID-19, their friendly smiling faces, informative conversations and compelling stories to try and improve human-wildlife coexistence will be the same as always!
They are gearing up to start heading back out on the trails again in the coming weeks so look for them on trails and at trail-heads, parks, day use areas, parking lots and campgrounds in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country soon! Be sure to say hi and learn something new from them but please keep your distance and be respectful!
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