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BEAR ACTIVITY SUMMARY FOR THE BOW VALLEY
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park) For the period: August 14 to August 21, 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.
SUMMARY
Multiple bears have been seen feeding on buffaloberries throughout the Bow Valley (on both sides of the valley), in and around Canmore, in residential areas and in the nearby MD of Bighorn hamlets.
Last week a group of four people with an on-leash dog had a surprise encounter with a black bear just south of the Quarry Lake Off-leash dog pond on the Powerline Trail. The bear was startled at close range (10-15ft) likely while feeding on berries. As such a bear warning was put in place for the area along the Powerline Trail between Peaks of Grassi and the Quarry Lake off-leash dog pond. Since that incident there have been a few more close range surprise encounters with bears in that same area between Peaks of Grassi and the Rundle Forebay. Obviously there are bears there focused on eating berries so it is very important for residents and visitors heading into this area to make lots of noise to alert wildlife of your presence, keep pets on a leash and carry bear spray in an easily accessible location! Another option would be to reduce your risk of encounters by avoiding these areas where bears have been seen or where active warnings have been put in place! Dogs must be on leash at all times when outside of the designated off-leash areas which are clearly delineated by signage and large white rocks. REMINDER: Dogs are not permitted at the Quarry Lake itself!
Grizzly bear in a residential area. Photo courtesy of Derek Ryder
Many people think “it will never happen to me” or “I have been living here for 30 years and I have never run into a bear” but as you can see surprise encounters with bears can happen to anyone, and not just in areas with active warnings and closures in place. Bears can be encountered anywhere, anytime, and people need to respect, remember and be prepared for that!
Bears are not the only wildlife you can expect to see out on the trails as several elk have been seen in and around Canmore, and one cow elk with three calves has closed distance on a few groups of people who were getting too close on the grassy fields, sports fields and busy trails in town such as the river and Spur Line Trails. People really need to give elk space (at least 30 metres or 3 bus lengths) and be aware of and prepared for encounters with wildlife by carrying bear spray, even along the well-traveled trails near town. Remember to carry bear spray in an easily accessible location, know how to use it and be prepared to use it! Bear spray has also been shown to be effective at deterring other wildlife such as cougars, wolves, coyotes and elk.
Cow elk just off the Spur Line Trail near the engine bridge on Aug.17. Photo by Judy Cairns
Garbage continues to be a major concern with people leaving garbage along trails and in day use areas. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure that your garbage finds its way into a bear proof bin or, if the garbage bin is full, find another bin or pack your garbage out with you!
Berry bushes and fruit trees are the main attractants drawing bears into residential areas and a great positive proactive step that you can take is to remove these attractants from your yard NOW before you have a bear in your tree. Leaving fruit (such as crabapple, mountain ash, chokecherry and dogwood) in your trees can attract bears into residential areas, putting bears and people at risk. The best practice is to remove fruit bearing trees and shrubs from your yard, however if you decide to keep your fruit bearing trees and shrubs, please ensure the fruit is removed. This will help keep bears and other wildlife out of residential areas. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure that bears do not have a reason to linger in your yard.
If you are renting or live in a condo complex, please contact your landlord or condo board/association and notify them if there are trees with fruits and berries on the property so they can arrange to either remove the trees or ensure the fruit is removed. If you can’t reach that fruit up in the tree, no problem! We have pruning shears and extendable fruit pickers that can be borrowed free of charge to allow Bow Valley residents to remove fruit and berries from their trees. Please send an email to info@wildsmart.ca to make arrangements to borrow the fruit picking equipment.
These are common fruits/berries that attract bears into residential areas (pictured clockwise from top left); Chokecherry, Crabapples, Dogwood and Mountain Ash.
In a continued effort to reduce conflict between bears and people in Canmore, the Town of Canmore has a wildlife attractant bylaw and they are running a Voluntary Fruit Tree Removal Incentive Program to help increase compliance. People can be fined for letting fruit and berries accumulate on trees and on the ground in their yards. Click here to view and download the bylaw. Homeowners are invited to express their interest in participating in the program which will cover 50% of the cost of removal to a maximum of $300 if they use an arborist or tree removal service to remove their tree. More information and details about how to participate can be found here on their website.
CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES
There is a bear warning in the area along the Powerline Trail between Peaks of Grassi and the Quarry Lake off-leash dog pond due to a surprise close range encounter that a group of four people had with a black bear last week. The bear was likely startled while feeding on berries.
Click here for the complete list of all Alberta Parks warnings and closures in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country.
Click here for the complete list of all warnings and closures in Banff National Park.
Here is a list of some Annual Closures in Kananaskis Country.
Click here for current information from Alberta Parks about visiting their parks during COVID-19. Click here for current information from Parks Canada about visiting their parks during COVID-19.
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 have already had several residents borrow our extendable fruit pickers to help with removing the fruit from their trees which is great! Some of the fruit is rather small and combined with the height of the trees it can be a very tedious task. The most effective long-term solution is to remove fruit bearing trees and shrubs from your yard so that you don`t have to do this tedious work every year. For those of you who are thinking about removing your fruit bearing trees and replacing them with a non-fruit bearing tree, the Princess Kay Plum (shown below) is a fantastic option! They look great and are strictly ornamental, they do not produce fruit and they have a brilliant fall colour! Please click here for more information and to view our list of recommended plant species for landscaping in the Bow Valley.
Princess Kay Plum in full bloom!
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