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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 (June 24-30, 2022)
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
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. With the increase in visitation anticipated over the long weekend, people need to expect to run into a bear while out on the trails, even in areas that do not have a bear warning in place! This includes facility zones, campgrounds and residential areas. Click on the following advisory page links for the latest information regarding areas that have a bear warning or closure in place:
Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country Advisories
Banff National Park Advisories
Remember to make lots of noise, travel in a group (ideally 4 or more), keep pets on a leash, carry bear spray and be prepared to use it in case of a close encounter. Knowing what to do when you encounter a bear is key! Even if you are going for a leisurely walk around the neighbourhood you should be carrying bear spray.
Traffic volumes along the major roads are increasing, making it more difficult for wildlife to cross. With the green grass and dandelions still attracting bears and other wildlife roadside looking for food, we must all remember to obey speed limits and slow down accordingly when passing wildlife but don’t stop and always stay in our vehicles!
Young black bear seen in a backyard in Harvie Heights on June 22, 2022.
Most elk calves are already mobile and moving around with less defensive mothers, however there continue to be other cow elk that will aggressively defend their calves by kicking and charging at people who are getting too close! 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.
Cow elk with calf.
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
DO NOT STOP ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY TO VIEW BEARS! It is dangerous to yourself, other motorists and it stresses out and disturbs the bears. Never get out of your vehicle to get closer to a bear that is roadside. The picture below is an example of what not to do!
Of the many people who drove past these bears, these few people did the wrong thing, risking their safety and the safety of the bears by stopping and getting out of their vehicles.
With winter conditions lingering in the alpine, bears have been retreating to the valley bottom to gain access to food sources, mating partners and calving grounds, resulting in multiple bear sightings in town and on trails on a daily basis! WildSmart recently chatted with Mallory Kosterski, who along with her fellow “rad mamas” known as the Mama Nurture Collective, had a very close encounter with a grizzly bear down in K-Country this past month. We chatted about how to best avoid and handle wildlife encounters, especially those we may have with our child(ren) in tow, and she wrote a great blog post about it: Mama Bear meets Grizzly Bear: Wildlife Safety with Children.
Mallory with baby Rose before the hike back out to the car. Mama Nurture Collective is a group of self-proclaimed “rad mamas” who enjoy adventuring with their babies in the beautiful Bow Valley and beyond. Witnessing the positive mental, social and physical impacts that being active outdoors has had on their families’ health, their mission is to empower you to get after it! They value community, authenticity, and sharing knowledge and experiences on how to safely adventure with your littles.
WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS
Rare white grizzly bear relocated away from the deadly highway to a safer area.
Banff residents are coexisting with coyotes.
Editorial from local paper: To successfully mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, people have to take responsibility for their actions!
Bear dies after getting trapped in a hot car while searching for food in Tennessee.
Watch a B.C. house cat chase a black bear out of its yard!
WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WORDS OF WISDOM
"BUSTING BEAR MYTHS" BY DEREK RYDER, WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR
Myth#4: Bears almost only eat berries.
Fact: This is absolutely true for about 5-6 weeks of the year. However, for the other ~23 weeks the bear is awake and not in hibernation? Not so much. Bears can only eat berries when they’re in season, which is a very short window. During this 5-6 week window, berries are indeed almost all that they eat. But for about 80% of their year, there are no berries to be found. This is when bears eat other flowers like dandelions, roots like kinnikinnik, or just grasses. They’ll eat ants or ground squirrels, or try to make a kill or find another carnivore’s kill to scavenge.
Bears love berries. They love shepherdia and wild raspberries, too, as well as huckleberries. They would probably like strawberries, too, but those just don’t grow in great enough density to interest a bear, so bears hardly ever eat them. But berry season is just too short for a bear to rely on berries as their only food for the entire time they are not hibernating.
In the Bow Valley, bears rely heavily on berries as their main food source for 5-6 weeks every year (black bear pictured here eating shepherdia).
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
Buffaloberries will start to ripen in the weeks to come. Please be proactive and remove berry bushes and fruit trees from your yard NOW before you attract a bear into town. Your tree blossoms will blossom into bear problems later! 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.
If a garbage bin is full, take your garbage to another bin! DO NOT leave it on the ground where it is accessible for wildlife! A fed bear is a dead bear and one lazy act could cost a bear its life! If you notice any garbage left outside of bear proof bins, or garbage bins that are full around town, please report this to the Town of Canmore at 403-678-1580.
Wildlife Ambassador Karen is back to remind people to respect all wildlife and leave the flowers for others to enjoy. Not only is picking wildflowers illegal in Alberta parks, but picking flowers actually kills some plants.
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley (including WildSmart, Wildlife Ambassadors and volunteers) will be walking in the Canada Day Parade tomorrow and we will also have a booth in Centennial Park afterwards from 1-5pm. Canada Day is an opportunity for us to connect with and strengthen our community, as well as reflect on the Bow Valley's Indigenous and colonial history. Drop by to see us - we look forward to chatting with you!
You can find out more about what is happening in Canmore on Canada Day 2022 by clicking here.
The last time WildSmart had a booth in Centennial Park on Canada Day in 2018!
CURRENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The Biosphere Institute is seeking a Volunteer Social Media Content Coordinator. This posting will remain open until this volunteer role is filled.
EVENTS
On July 7, Y2Y invites you to an online presentation from 12-1pm of their new report on Cumulative Effects modeling done in the Bow Valley, in collaboration with ALCES Land-Use. Register here for free to save your spot!
Expected growth in development and recreation in the Bow Valley would considerably increase the risk of conflict between people and grizzly bears in the future. The good news? Carefully planned development and well managed recreation could significantly reduce how much that risk increases.
Whether you are someone who follows Y2Y’s work, a resident of the Bow Valley, someone who loves visiting and recreating in this wonderful area, or all of the above, Y2Y looks forward to sharing what they have learned with you on July 7.
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