Watching for Bear Signs - Digs

by Derek Ryder, Volunteer Wildlife Ambassador & IGA Interpretive Guide

Kananaskis Country is home to a lot of animals, including bears. Recreating safely in bear country means more than just knowing what to do in a bear encounter. It’s also understanding signs that bears are around, so that maybe those encounters can be prevented.

Bears are big enough that they almost always leave evidence that they’ve been present – if you know what to look for. Keeping your eyes peeled for this evidence can help you be aware if bears are present, and will decrease the risk that you’ll accidentally run into a bear. In this series of articles, I’m going to help you learn about some of the signs bears leave in the forest.

It’s larch season, and that means throngs of people are going to head up to the high alpine. That’s exactly where grizzlies are at this time of year, too. There are a couple of things that grizzlies chow down on up in the alpine before they go to bed, and almost all of them are dug up. Accordingly, something to keep your eye out for on your larch explorations are Grizzly Bear digs.

Many of the plants bears eat grow in patches. If bears are digging for roots or bulbs, such as those of the Glacier Lily, you’re going to find a large area that looks like it’s been attacked by a rototiller. When I say “large”, it could be as much as 15 m by 15 m, so it’s really hard to miss. The first photo was taken in the Highwood Pass area. Note that, whatever was being dug up, it is above treeline and right near the start of scree. This kind of mess is very common in these locations.

Sometimes, the roots they’re looking for are in more modest sized patches, like the second photo. Some people look at damage like this and think it’s done by Ground Squirrels. Except no Ground Squirrel in these parts creates large expanses of dirt; at best, they make little dirt mounds. Note that the mess in this photo is literally right next to the trail.

Speaking of Ground Squirrels, Grizzlies love to dig them up, too. These digs are distinctive. First off, there are always other untouched Ground Squirrel den holes nearby. Ground Squirrels almost always dig “fake” entrances to throw predators off, and give themselves a chance to escape, plus they live in colonies. Next, Ground Squirrel digs are either like a trench in a straight line, or they dig straight into what was obviously a den entrance that’s now a LOT bigger. The next photo looks like it could have been a Columbian Ground Squirrel Den, except it’s 10 times too large, as the rake shows for scale. Now, at first glance, this looks like it could be a coyote den. Except it’s in a high alpine meadow surrounded by 100 Ground Squirrel holes, and the Coyotes would have eaten every Ground Squirrel near their den, so no holes would be present.

The biggest giveaway that the dig you’re looking at was done by a Grizzly is its sheer size and magnitude of the excavation. Alpine meadows invariably have thin soils and lots of rocks underneath. The only animal strong enough to move these rocks is a Grizzly. Take a peek at the rocks in this next dig. Who knows what they were after, but the raw power to dig a hole like that screams “Grizzly”.

If you find a dig, you can often age it fairly well. Signs that it’s recent include exposed damp soil, grass underneath that is still alive and green, and visible dirt on top of plants within 5’-10’. If the soil is dry and grasses dead, it’s older.

Keep your eyes wide open for Grizzlies in the high alpine when you go to see the larches. If you don’t find a new or old grizzly dig, I would be surprised.

Click here to find out about some of the other signs that bears leave behind!