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BEAR ACTIVITY SUMMARY FOR THE BOW VALLEY
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park) For the period: October 9 to October 16, 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
Bears need a healthy fat layer before they go into their deep sleep; it helps them to stay warm and provides calories to survive the winter. If they don’t gain enough fat reserves, they may wake up early in the spring or during the winter in a desperate attempt to find more food. If that fails, the bear may face starvation. With that in mind, bears will continue to actively search for food in the coming weeks to pack on those extra few pounds before heading into their dens for the winter. As such, it is important that everyone remains vigilant and mentally prepared for possible encounters.
There continues to be bear activity in and around the Town of Canmore and the MD of Bighorn hamlets as bears are being drawn into residential areas by people allowing fruit to accumulate on trees and on the ground in their yards. Bears in backyards puts people AND bears at risk! They can cause injury to people and pets and even destroy property, resulting in bears being relocated or destroyed. Relocated bears generally have a low chance of survival, but moving a bear in the fall is especially difficult for the bear. Please do your part in keeping wildlife WILD and outside of residential areas by removing attractants such as fruit (both on trees and on the ground), grease on barbecues, pet food and garbage from your yard. By being proactive and removing these attractants you could save a bear’s life!
Photo courtesy of Lisanne Mol
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, and more details about the Voluntary Fruit Tree Removal Incentive Program can be found here.
Halloween is around the corner and with that, pumpkins are starting to make an appearance. Please be proactive and remember to keep pumpkins inside of windows and NOT outside on your doorstep. You might think that your pumpkin is safe on a balcony, far off the ground, but bears are very good climbers. Check out this video of an ingenious bear climbing up onto a balcony. Pumpkins are a wildlife attractant to all sorts of animals, not just bears.
Keep your doorstep bear free by placing pumpkins inside windows
Elk continue to be seen along popular urban trails and in open fields such as school yards and playing fields, which means you may have to choose an alternate route while out for a walk/run/ride. Give plenty of space to ALL ELK (at least 30 metres or 3 bus lengths) as they are very unpredictable at this time of year and do not try to sneak past them on the trail! Male elk will be particularly protective of the female elk they are with and they may become aggressive towards anything that comes too close. Keep your pets on a leash and if an elk charges (usually because you are much too close), be prepared to use your bear spray. Try to move behind a large object (e.g. car, large tree) and keep the object between you and the elk.
Photo courtesy of Mark Earll
There is a viral video going around about a man that had a cougar encounter in Utah. The headlines that the media created for this video are misleading as the cougar probably wasn't stalking the man at all. It appears that the cougar was most likely a female defending her cubs, as is explained in this video. The encounter was a very good learning opportunity about wildlife safety and some of the key lessons to take away from this encounter are:
Carry bear spray YEAR-ROUND in an easily accessible location, not in your backpack, know how to use it and be prepared to use it as it could save your life! Bear spray has also been shown to be effective at deterring other wildlife such as cougars, wolves, coyotes and elk.
Hike and run in a group and stay close together keeping children close by, and try to avoid hiking/running at dusk, dawn or at night. In a group, not only are you more intimidating for wildlife, but you naturally will make more noise and it is much safer in case of an emergency.
NEVER approach wildlife to take a picture. They are unpredictable and will likely act defensive, especially if they have babies, if it’s mating season, or if there is a nearby food source.
When wildlife is spotted your first thought should be of your safety and calmly leaving the area, not getting that perfect picture or video.
During an encounter, you should have both hands free and and available to pull out your bear spray and use it, or pick up rocks or sticks to deter the approaching animal (if you do not have bear spray). Your hands should NOT be holding a camera or phone!
All trail users need to be making LOTS of noise to alert wildlife that humans are around and to give them a chance to clear the area. Your voice is the best noise maker you have.
Be aware of your surroundings (look and listen for wildlife and their signs, including tracks and scat) and be sure to check behind you while on the trails to make sure there are no animals following you. That includes not wearing earbuds/headphones which will limit your ability to hear approaching wildlife.
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
The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley is seeking new Board members with an appreciation for community building and an understanding of environmental issues in the Bow Valley, particularly human-wildlife coexistence and climate change. If you are interested or if you know of anyone who would be a great addition to the Board, please submit an application (as per instructions below) or share this with them. Deadline for applications is Tuesday, October 20.
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