KANANASKIS – The fate of two grizzly bear cubs in Kananaskis Country appears uncertain after their mother abandoned them in order to breed – but visitors to the protected area have a big role to play in the outcome for the young bruins.
Since grizzly bear No. 104 left her yearling cubs last month, hordes of tourists have been crowding and harassing the youngsters, following them from morning until night taking videos and photos, as they feast on lush vegetation along busy roads.
Without the guidance and protection of their mom in just the second year of their lives, the small cubs haven’t been taught to navigate dangers – and wildlife experts fear they will be fed food by misguided individuals.
“That’s our big fear – that someone who really doesn’t understand will stop and throw some food out the window that these bears will key into that,” said John Paczkowski, human-wildlife coexistence team leader for Alberta Parks.
“Then, that sort of changes the life path for these bears.”
Bear No. 104 is almost 20 years old and is well known to Alberta Parks wildlife experts.
She left her cubs in June in order to mate – something she has done in the past – in what is thought to be almost a diversion tactic to draw the male bears away to avoid harm to her cubs. Male bears will kill cubs.
Paczkowski said the female grizzly bear does this with almost every litter she’s had.
“She dumps them early into the second year and leaves them to fend for themselves while she’s off mating,” he said.
“Sometimes she reunites with them, and sometimes she doesn’t.”
There are some reports of the bears running towards vehicles and approaching people, which is behaviour that suggests the naive youngsters may have already been fed. This has not been 100 per cent confirmed, though.
Bears that get habituated or food-conditioned are easier targets for being struck by vehicles on the highways. In many cases, management may be forced to relocate them to a more remote area, which is essentially a death sentence, or destroy them for public safety reasons.
Alberta Parks has been doing some gentle hazing of the cubs to push them away from roads whenever possible.
“Because they’re so small, we’re not using the more severe rubber slugs and things, so it’s mostly noise, and in some cases, paintballs,” said Paczkowski.
“We wouldn’t want to risk injuring them using anything more severe than that.”
Paczkowski is hoping for the best outcome for the two cubs, noting he first came into contact with their mother, No. 104, when she was a young bear in the mid-2000s.
“It’s cool because I worked with her when she was just a little runt of a bear, like an 80-pound juvenile,” he said.
“I also worked with her mother in 1995, so it’s kind of neat to these grandchildren.”
Bear 104 typically has cubs every two years, according to Paczkowski, and this most recent litter born in 2022 was kicked out this year.
“She cycles a litter quicker than most grizzlies,” he said, noting the litter interval for most female grizzlies in K-Country is three to four years.
“We’re expecting her to have another litter next year, which is faster than average, so she’s quite a bit more active.”
Many large grizzly bears have been seen in the Highway 40 corridor of K-Country.
“It’s like a strip for meeting,” Paczkowski.
“These males show up and they’ll chase the females along the Highway 40 corridor … we’ve seen a few big males around.”
These, however, are not the only grizzly bears hanging out by the side of dangerous roads and busy human-use areas throughout K-Country.
Paczkowski said there are a few sub-adult grizzlies and a mama bear with a young-of-year cub.
“We’ve only seen her a couple times, but they all need the space,” he said.
“They all need everyone’s help so that they can thrive on the landscape and bears and people can stay safe.”
Alberta Parks urge visitors to obey no-stopping zones that have been set up, and also strongly encourages visitors not to stop when bears are roadside, even if there is no formal no-stopping zones.
Leanne Niblock, communications director for Alberta Parks, said if a number of cars stop to observe bears along the highway, it can cause a bear jam – congestion created when too many vehicles stop to view bears.
“These bear jams are a public safety hazard, as people often stop unexpectedly or illegally, and they also put bears and other wildlife at risk,” she said in an email.
“Alberta Parks has implemented no stopping zones in hotspots; please obey these signs, drive with caution, and respect speed limits.”
While the growing number of tourists may be making the situation worse, Paczkowski said bear jams caused by people stopping to view roadside bears is not a new phenomenon in K-Country.
“We’ve been dealing with this for a couple of decades because, in many cases, the best available food is that strip of vegetation near the roadside,” he said.
A study released in March this year, Bear jams in Kananaskis Country: Visitor and expert perceptions of roadside bear viewing management in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, found that bear jams pose significant risks for humans and wildlife.
The study, by University of Northern British Columbia graduate student Annie Pumphrey, included a survey of almost 400 visitors to the park and interviews with experts who have experience in bear-related fields.
Pumphrey said the main findings indicate that a balanced approach is needed to manage bears and humans.
She said the study suggests human, bear, infrastructure, and habitat-related approaches, including implementing no-stopping zones, enforcing regulations, and improving education and outreach, are key to managing roadside bear viewing.
“The results of this study provide valuable insight for park managers and wildlife officials to develop effective management strategies that balance the needs of both humans and bears,” she said in her report.
Grizzly bears are a threatened species in Alberta, with an estimated population of about 50 to 75 grizzly bears in Kananaskis Country, although that number fluctuates due to range and movement of the species.
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is located within the province’s Bear Management Area 5.
In 2020, there were 12 known grizzly bear mortalities in BMA 5 – 42 per cent of which were highway mortalities and four involved young-of-the-year cubs. This was the highest mortality rate in BMA 5 since 2009.
“The prevalence of highway-bear collisions in the region highlights the importance of reducing impacts for roadside bears,” said Pumphrey.
