BEAR ACTIVITY SUMMARY FOR THE BOW VALLEY
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park) For the period: September 25 to October 2, 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
Grizzly and black bears are still being reported in the Bow and Kananaskis Valleys as they continue to actively search for food for the next month and a half to fatten up for their winter hibernation. With all the nice weather we have been having, the berries are still persisting in K-Country, which is great for the bears but it also increases the chance of surprise encounters as they are still intensely focused on eating. This is evident, as there have been lots of surprise close encounters with black bears; luckily nothing aggressive! All trail users, especially mountain bikers, need to be making LOTS of noise to alert bears that humans are around and to give the bears a chance to move away from the trail. Other ways of reducing the risk of encounters include: slowing down, staying out of closed areas and avoiding areas where active bear warnings are in place, travelling in tight groups (while still maintaining proper social distancing), keeping pets on a leash, being aware of your surroundings and not wearing earbuds or headphones and packing out what you pack in. It is important to always be mentally prepared for possible encounters as wildlife can be encountered anywhere at any time!
Photo courtesy of Misha Mustaqeem (taken on Sep.26 in K-Country).
Elk continue to be seen along trails and in wide open fields such as school yards and playing fields around town, which means you may have to choose an alternate route while out for a walk/run/ride. Parents should have a conversation with their children about giving wildlife lots of space, not trying to sneak past wildlife on the trail and calmly leaving the area if they see elk or other wildlife on their commute to school. Male elk will be particularly protective of the female elk they are with and they may become aggressive towards anything that comes too close. Give plenty of space to ALL ELK (at least 30 meters or 3 bus lengths), never get between a male elk and female elk and keep pets on a leash. If an elk charges (usually because you are much too close), be prepared to use your bear spray and try to move behind a large object (e.g. car, tree) and keep the object between you and the elk.
What are the Bears eating today? Part 6 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.
As I noted last month, it’s the time of year when the diets of grizzly and black bears have diverged. Now that berry season is nearly done, grizzlies start moving out of the valleys and into the alpine. Black bears find slightly higher elevations but den much lower than their grizzly counterparts. By this time next month, half of the grizzlies and virtually all of the black bears will be in dens (and the ski season will have started, even though this week doesn’t feel like it).
Black bears thoughts in October turn to grasses and insects. I was doing a Wildlife Ambassador rove this week and found a great big pile of bear scat in Riverside Park in downtown Canmore. It was nothing but the lush green grass growing in the park. Bears are smart and always are eating the best thing available. One of our wildlife coexistence challenges in the Canmore area is we plant and lovingly tend good ‘ole grass in our parks, which is demonstrably a wildlife attractant, as Riverside had bear poop, deer poop and elk poop in it – and a herd of elk napping in the trees nearby on a busy Sunday.
Non - “domesticated” black bears that don’t live near cultivated areas would love that grass, but no one waters or fertilizes the wilderness. Yes, there are still berries around on late-blooming plants like Dogwood, and when in doubt, black bears will always target kinnikinnik berries as a default; they are plentiful and stay on the plant all winter long so can be an ideal “bedtime snack”. But black bears are also using their sharp little claws to tear open logs and find ants and wasps. Insects like these are super high in protein and calories, and can be sniffed out. Over the last week or two, I’ve seen dozens of freshly broken into logs with tell-tale black bear claw marks on them.
Grizzlies, on the other hand, take advantage of their high alpine denning areas to target the perfect bedtime snack: ground squirrels and marmots. All of these species went into their dens to hibernate in late August and the last ones are zonked out by mid-September. By mid October, virtually nothing will wake them. Columbian Ground squirrels in particular are very easy prey. They have a very specific nesting pattern: two access holes about 20’ apart connected by an underground tunnel. In the middle is a communal nesting chamber with 5-10 squirrels in it. All the bear has to do is stick their nose in a bunch of holes, find two that smell exactly the same, and then dig between them.
I’ve seen this happen in real time in the wilderness; I watched a grizzly bear dig a 10’ long trench 2’ deep in under 3 minutes. It was like watching a roto-rooter at work. And the prize: one whole lot of calories that won’t run or fight back. The photo is what’s left after this happens. Best part for the grizz? A couple of inches of snow makes it easier to find the holes; they have enough heat coming out of them to create dimples of partial melt. You can find these dig remnants in the spring the moment the snow melts. Every bear den I have visited to help with research featured nearby remnant digs for ground squirrels. Digs like this are a common sight in places like Chester Lakes, Burstall Pass, Rummel Lake, Commonwealth Lakes, Ptarmigan Cirque and Pocaterra Cirque.
But grizzlies are very opportunistic when it comes to eating. While digs for ground squirrels pre-denning is common, bears also understand elk rutting season. It’s hard work being a male elk trying to be dominant, and if you place 2nd or 3rd that year in the hierarchy, you expended a LOT of energy and end up in a weakened state but didn’t get anywhere. You’re still recovering from that osteoporosis that stole calcium from your bones to make a big set of antlers, and you might be injured from the fighting with other males. Guess what? In your weakened state, you’re a target for a grizzly bear. There was a recent video shot in Yellowstone of a grizzly chasing down and killing a large male elk; see the interesting but rather “grizzly” video here. Word has it that this elk was not in the best shape for these reasons, having just finished arguing with another male and losing; normally, a full-grown male elk is a tough thing for a grizzly to manage.
And when in doubt: grizzlies will always fall back on roots of hedysarum, Cow Parsnip, anything green still growing near open creeks and even kinnikinnik roots and berries like their black bear cousins.
What still impresses me is how late in the season research cameras capture the biggest male grizzly bears “out and about”. I always wonder exactly what food this particular bear was eating in the second week of January in 2013. Because even though this will be the last in our series of “What are bears eating today?” some will still be up and about for several months to come. Keep that bear spray handy despite the snow!
The last new WildSmart face mask that is available at Ruckusdesign is the wolf mask (shown below) that highlights keeping your pets on a leash unless you are in designated off-leash dog areas! People need to mindful about the consequences of their actions and off-leash dogs don't just pose a risk to wildlife, they could put themselves, their owners and others nearby at risk too. 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!
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
As you know, WildSmart is a program of the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley. We are currently seeking new Board members with an appreciation for community building and an understanding of environmental issues on the Bow Valley, particularly human-wildlife coexistence and climate change. Deadline for applications is Tuesday, October 20.
In other paws-itive news, Fat Bear Week started on Wednesday and is an annual tournament celebrating the success of the bears at Brooks River in Katmai National Park. From September 30 to October 6, your vote decides who will be crowned champion as the fattest bear!
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