BEAR ACTIVITY SUMMARY FOR THE BOW VALLEY
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park) For the period: September 11 to September 18, 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
There continue to be numerous bear sightings throughout the Bow Valley and in the valley bottoms in Kananaskis Country. Determined to fill their bellies with as much food as possible before they head into their dens later this fall, they will be very focused on eating which increases the chance of those close range surprise encounters. They should be eating natural foods such as berries and plants and not human food or garbage so don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution by keeping a clean campsite and not leaving garbage out on the trails and day use areas.
You can also do your part by giving them the space they need to feed undisturbed, so please stay out of closed areas and avoid areas where bears have been seen or where active warnings are in place! Other ways to reduce the risk of encounters with wildlife are by making lots of noise to alert animals of your presence, travelling in groups, keeping pets on a leash and being aware of your surroundings by not wearing earbuds or headphones.
Grizzly bear down in K-Country. Photo taken on Sep.15 by Judy Cairns.
With elk rutting season in full swing, you may hear some loud bugling! Male elk are particularly protective of the female elk they are with and they may become aggressive towards anything that comes too close, even trucks (see the picture below and read this article from a couple of years ago). 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 (because you are likely much too close), be prepared to use your bear spray or 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. Remember: they are wild animals that need their space and they can react unpredictably!
Four holes made by a charging bull elk when this truck was stopped at a traffic light. Photo courtesy of Parks Canada
One thing that this COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is that we need to keep our distance from other people but we also need to remember to keep our distance and stay back from ALL wildlife too! By getting too close to wildlife we stress them out, we disrupt their feeding habits, mating habits, travelling habits and even cause them to run into traffic or act aggressively to humans which unfortunately almost always ends badly for the animals.
We would like to introduce you to another one of the seven new WildSmart face masks that are available at Ruckusdesign! The grizzly bear mask (shown below) appropriately highlights that we need to back off and give bears space and also reminds other people that during these COVID-19 times we need to remember to give each other space too. If we continually get too close to bears we disrupt their lifestyles (as discussed above) but we also might make them lose their natural fear of people or cause them to act aggressively towards us, both of which increase the possibility of human-wildlife conflict, resulting in bears being relocated or destroyed.
A portion of the sale of each mask will be donated to WildSmart so this is your chance to be safe, help improve human-wildlife coexistence and support WildSmart all at the same time! The masks cost $20 each, or $15 each if you buy 3 or more. Keep wildlife wild and people safe by spreading the message - get your mask now by clicking here!
With buffaloberry season coming to an end in the near future, bears will be searching for other food sources and fruit trees will be the main attractants drawing bears into residential and developed areas in town. This brings wildlife and humans close together and creates a concern for public and wildlife safety, as is described in this Alberta BearSmart Fruit Trees and Bears fact sheet. The best practice is to remove fruit bearing trees and shrubs from your yard, however if you decide to keep your fruit bearing trees, please ensure that 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. If you are not sure what to do with the crabapples, you can use them to make delicious jams, jellies and baked goods and liqueurs.
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. You can learn more about both of these initiatives on their website here.
Hunting season has started. 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 and be especially cautious as bears are still very active in the valley bottoms.
CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES
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
Last weekend we had a group of Volunteer Wildlife Ambassadors out at Upper Kananaskis Lake chatting with folks about wildlife safety and responsible trail use. They spoke with almost 600 people and they received lots of pawsitive feedback from the people they chatted with, who were all very appreciative of them being there. This is so awesome to hear and makes it all worthwhile for the Ambassadors! The feedback given by the Ambassadors was also very pawsitive and they were very impressed by all the polite people who were carrying bear spray, had their dogs on-leash, travelled in groups and were visibly prepared for their hike.
Ambassadors Sam and Susan (and photographer Ali) set up at Upper Kananaskis Lake last Sunday sporting their awesome new face masks!
Speaking of polite, we could not resist showing this video clip. Although this video clip comes from Alaska, our guess is that it must be a Canadian grizzly bear on vacation.
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