With 12 grizzly bear cubs traveling with their mothers in Kananaskis Country and several bears spotted by people in the town of Canmore, Alberta, wildlife officers are warning the public to be extra diligent when out of doors.
“There have been lots of bear sightings by people who have seen them on both sides of the valley in Canmore,” Kim Titchener, education program director for Bow Valley Wildsmart, said. “People have been phoning in to our wildlife activity line at 403-591-7755 daily. They can subscribe to our email list and receive our weekly bear report by visiting Bow Valley Wildsmart.”
Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer Dave Dickson set a bear culvert trap in Canmore in the Peaks of Grassi neighborhood and another one near the Canmore Nordic Centre this week.
“We have not caught anything but we are still getting calls about bear sightings,” Dickson said. “There is a black bear in the area and the odd grizzly traveling through. If we catch a grizzly we will put a GPS collar on it.”
August is high season for bear activity in Canmore and Kananaskis Country and this year the shepherdia berry crop is very good. The small, juicy, red or orange berries are the main staple of a bear’s diet at this time of the year, he said.
Conservation officers closed the Barrier Lake trail last weekend because collared grizzly bear #105 and her two cubs of the year were in the area.
“We closed the area because we were concerned the bear could get into an incident if a human got between her and her cubs,” Alberta Parks Conservation officer Arian Spiteri said. “As we walked on the trail to check on her last Saturday several people on the trail were telling us that they had seen her. The bear was allowing her cubs to trail her at quite a distance and we were afraid a human could get in between them.”
Spiteri posted a warning sign earlier in the day asking people using the area to travel in groups, make noise so the bears could hear them coming, keep dogs on leash and carry bear spray. But hardly anyone was abiding by those rules, she said.
“For example, four of our officers were standing on the trail when a guy rode right past us on his bike,” Spiteri said. “He was alone, he was listening to music on his ear buds and he was not carrying bear spray. I tried to warn him that the bear was on the trail but he could not hear me. Only when he stopped to adjust his music, I was able to catch up to him and warn him. That kind of thing was happening.”
Anyone walking in the woods around Canmore or in Kananaskis Country should expect to see a bear, because they are in bear country, she said.
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