Bear Report - Oct 5, 2023

Did you know that WildSmart is a program of the Biosphere Institute, a local charity? Our work relies entirely on donations and sponsors. If you would like to support our community-based efforts to promote human-wildlife coexistence, please donate!

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 UPDATE (Sep.28-Oct.5, 2023)

(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)

Black bears continue to be seen regularly throughout the Bow Valley and with the upcoming long weekend and nice weather forecast, the trails and day use areas will likely be busy with visitors. It’s important that everyone remains vigilant and mentally prepared for possible encounters with bears and other wildlife, all of which are still active in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country!

With the probability of running into a bear in Canmore still high, as well as reports in Canmore of large rutting bull elk showing aggression towards people, residents and visitors should be carrying bear spray with them out on the trails, even if they are going for a leisurely walk around town.

This has been a tragic and very sad week as two people and their dog were killed in a rare grizzly bear attack in a very remote location in the backcountry of Banff National Park last Friday. There have been numerous articles written about the incident and we have included links to several of them in the “WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS” section below.

People should not be fearful of bears when heading out on the trails. Instead they need to have a healthy respect for bears and ensure they are making responsible choices to recreate safely out on the trails and in the backcountry. This includes things like:

  • Choosing to recreate in areas that do not have closures and warnings in place, and avoiding areas where bears have been recently seen.

  • Travelling in a group, ideally four or more people and staying close together.

  • Being aware of your surroundings. Look and listen for sign of bears and if you see fresh scat or tracks on the trail, turn around and go elsewhere. There is no need to take a chance and set yourself up for a possible encounter when you know there is a bear in the area.

  • Carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it. Every person in your group should be carrying bear spray.

  • Keeping dogs on a leash or consider leaving them at home.

  • Recreating during daylight hours. Avoid being out on the trails systems at night when there is an increased possibility of coming into close proximity or contact with a bear due to darkness, especially during high-speed activiteis such as trail-running and mountain biking.

Black bear with collar on Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park. Photo taken on Sep.29, 2023.

Even though bears have dominated the news this past week, we can’t forget about the other potentially dangerous wildlife that frequents the Bow Valley! Elk continue to show aggression towards people getting too close, there have been reports of wolves hunting elk in public areas in Canmore, and golfers at the Canmore Golf Club witnessed a coyote take down and kill a deer at close range last Monday.

 

Male elk are particularly protective of any female elk they are with, and there continue to be reports of large rutting bull elk showing aggression towards people getting too close. Give plenty of space to ALL ELK (at least 30 metres or 3 bus lengths), never try to sneak past them, never get between a male elk and the female elk and keep pets on a leash!

 

VIEW CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES

Both black and grizzly bears continue to be active in Kananaskis Country resulting in two bear warnings and one bear closure to be put in place this past week.

 
 

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

Bow Valley residents need to be aware of and concerned that attractants such as fruit trees pose a safety risk to people and the survival of bears! Coexisting with wildlife in the Bow Valley means removing forbidden fruit BEFORE it is ripe, and the best long-term solution is to remove the fruit tree and replace it with a non-fruit-bearing alternative. Consider having some friendly conversations (not confrontations) with your neighbours and fellow residents about the importance of removing fruit to keep people and wildlife safe in the Bow Valley!

Bears are so focused on food this time of year that they are more likely to take risks, like coming into town and backyards to feed in fruit trees. Letting a bear access these higher calorie items such as crabapples won't do it any favours. Once they try these food sources they can learn that towns provide easy meals, meaning they're more likely to stick around and come back. This can become a public safety issue as bears can get protective of food sources, leading to conflicts between bears and humans, with bears normally paying the price by getting relocated or destroyed. Learn more at keepwildlifealive.ca.

Bow hunting season is now open in the Bow Valley so please be aware of your surroundings and stay clear of dead animals. Hunters need to be cautious as due to the nature of their activity, they are intentionally being quiet on the landscape. They should always be bear aware and carry bear spray with them while out hunting!

Trail Users with Dogs:

Please complete this 15-minute online survey that is geared towards trail user choice related to dogs (on leash and off leash). The survey is open until Oct.15. They want to hear from anyone who has a dog that uses the trails in the Bow Valley and K-Country.

Click on image for the Kananaskis Wildlife & Trail Survey geared towards trail users with dogs.

WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WORDS OF WISDOM

In light of the recent bear attack, many people might be feeling fearful of bears and heading outdoors in bear country so we wanted to share one of our previous myth-busting segments. We need to acknowledge that this was a very rare and tragic event, and we will never fully know and understand what happened. We also need to understand that although rare, bear attacks can happen, and people need to be aware of that and be prepared for that.

"BUSTING BEAR MYTHS" BY DEREK RYDER, WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR

Myth#1: Bears are fearsome creatures that want to kill humans.

Fact: Bears generally care very little about humans until we bother them. When bothered, they react. Given that they are big (with sharp teeth and claws), their reactions can certainly appear fearsome. Bears don’t see people as food. Bears can, however, see people as threats. Ways we unwittingly threaten bears includes:

  • Getting between a mom and the cubs. To the mom, this looks like you’re trying to attack her cubs;

  • Approaching a bear on a carcass, or while feeding generally. To a bear, this looks like you’re trying to get their food;

  • "Suddenly” appearing. If a bear doesn’t know you’re coming, the fact that you’re suddenly there looks to the bear like you’re sneaking up on them, possibly to attack them.

One thing is sure: if we bother bears, and they get defensive and react, bears won’t stop until they are sure they won’t be bothered again. That means people being chased away, or attacked to neutralize the threat the bear perceives. Bears normally don’t want to kill or injure humans – unless we give them a reason to.

It is true that, occasionally, there are predatory attacks by bears on humans. Research says only about 10% of bear attacks are predatory, and almost all of those are by black bears. Bear attacks are pretty rare to begin with, so predatory attacks are rarer still.

Getting between a mom and her cubs is a common way that we unwittingly threaten bears.

WEEKLY WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WHEREABOUTS

In case you have not seen them yet, our amazing Volunteer Wildlife Ambassadors have been heading out onto trails and trailheads to talk to people about responsible trail use and staying safe while recreating in bear country. Note: the locations they go to may change at the last minute.

Keep an eye out for the Wildlife Ambassadors out and about in Canmore this weekend and be sure to say hi and have a chat with them!

WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT?

Shape the Human-Wildlife Coexistence Implementation and Action Plan

The Town of Canmore is making an action plan for how humans and wildlife can coexist in the Canmore area. You have a voice in shaping the actions they take.

  • Living in the Bow Valley means we need to take extra care to keep wildlife alive and our human communities safe.

  • They are seeking to understand barriers, gaps, and opportunities to make our community safer for humans and wildlife.

Help the Town understand how they can make it easier to take actions that support human-wildlife coexistence. Take their short and anonymous survey until Oct. 31, 2023 by clicking below!

AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS

On behalf of all the staff at the Biosphere Institute, THANK YOU Bow Valley for voting us the Best Environmental Program and Best Business Implementing Environmental Change in the Best of the Bow Canmore 2023! We are so honoured to receive this recognition and look forward to continue working together with all of you to address human-wildlife coexistence and climate change challenges! Many thanks also to the Rocky Mountain Outlook for all their hard work in putting this event on year after year.

 

Best of the Bow 2023 from October 5, 2023 edition of the RM Outlook.

 

Fat Bear Week 2023 is October 4-10! Your vote decides who is the fattest of the fat. Matchups will be open for voting between 10am-7pm MT. Download your bracket to predict your own fat bear winner. Some of the largest brown bears on Earth make their home at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Brown bears get fat to survive and Fat Bear Week is an annual tournament celebrating their success in preparation for winter hibernation.

This is a single elimination tournament. For each match-up, vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness. The bear with the most votes advances to the next round. Only one will be crowned champion of Fat Bear Week. Learn more about the history of Fat Bear Week.

Brooks Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park is the best place in the world to watch brown bears feasting on salmon as they swim upstream to spawn. Watch the live webcam by clicking here.

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 11 - Accelerating Climate Action in the Bow Valley (1-5pm, Canmore Coast Hotel)

Join us for Accelerating Climate Action in the Bow Valley on October 11, 2023, for an afternoon of of presentations, sharing, connection and community climate action! There is a lot of fantastic work that is currently happening in in the Bow Valley - we're bringing the whole community together to celebrate, strengthen and amplify it! This meeting will bring together businesses, not-for profit organizations, government agencies and other sectors of the Bow Valley community to take climate action and simultaneously address social, economic and health issues in the Bow Valley.

Register for free below to reserve your place now. Click here for event details!

October 16 - Firesmarting the Bow Valley: How do we ensure that our community and surrounding wildlands are firesmarted?

Attendees will learn the answers to some very important questions:

  • How do we “FIRESMART” our homes, our community, and surrounding parks and wildlands?

  • Is what we’ve already done good enough – or do we need to do more?

  • What lessons can First Nations teach us when it comes to Firesmarting?

  • Can we combine Firesmarting with habitat enhancement? If so, what does it look like?

  • What’s a long-term eco-cultural biome? What’s a modern industrial anthrome?

  • How did wildland fires burn in biomes, and how do they burn in modern anthromes?

We’ll also have a question period and discussion. Could Canmore become a model “Regional Fire-Smart Community” where our individual actions and local governance allow some form of the long-evolved “eco-cultural biome” fire regime to co-exist with the modern “urban anthrome” landscape? Join us on October 16 to discuss! If you cannot join in person, tune in online through Zoom. You can register for this free workshop here. 

Nov.17 - Biosphere Institute's 2nd Annual Do-Si-Do Square Dance Fundraiser

As loyal bear report subscribers, we want you to be the first to know that we just opened ticket sales for our 2nd Annual Square Dance Fundraiser on November 17, 2023 from 6:30 PM at the Cornerstone Theatre in Canmore! The most fun you can have with your boots on! Last year's event was a huge success and tickets sold quickly! We wanted to you know first, before we open it to the general public early next week.

We're proud that this event is part of Bow Valley Immigration Partnership's Community Week! This fundraiser is pivotal in supporting our ongoing programming: WildSmart (human-wildlife coexistence), Shift: Climate Transitions (low-carbon energy and climate action), and Future Leaders (empowering and educating youth).

All are welcome! We welcome young and old cowboys, cowgirls, and cowpals for some boot stomp’n fun!! We will be offering a silent auction throughout the evening where all proceeds will go to supporting our work.

Click on this image to buy your tickets now!

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