Female grizzly bear 148 took a four-day adventure outside Banff National Park to Canmore last weekend, prompting swift calls for residents and visitors to be bear aware to help keep both the famed bruin and themselves safe.
Female grizzly bear 148 took a four-day adventure outside Banff National Park to Canmore last weekend, prompting swift calls for residents and visitors to be bear aware to help keep both the famed bruin and themselves safe.
The famed radio-collared bear spends 90 per cent of her time on protected national park lands, but she headed for Canmore on Thursday (June 22) before returning to the park early Monday (June 26).
She was spotted along Legacy Trail on Friday and at the Quarry Lake area, adjoining dog park, Peaks of Grassi neighbourhood and Canmore Nordic Centre in the days to follow. Fish and Wildlife officers attended along with RCMP.
“Members of the public who were in the immediate area of the bear were advised to leave the area,” said district Fish and Wildlife Officer Mark Hoskin, noting warning signs were promptly put in place.
“No negative interactions were noted between the bear and members of the public.”
There is at least one more grizzly and approximately eight black bears known to be in the Canmore area – a crucial link in a natural and critical wildlife corridor – at any given time.
Grizzly bears are a threatened species in Alberta.
According to Parks Canada, bear 148 has never attacked or been aggressive toward people, although she huffs, puffs and vocalizes when people get too close and she wants space.
It is believed dogs, including one incident at Mount Norquay when 148 followed hikers after being harassed by a dog, triggered two separate encounters in Banff earlier this spring.
When 148 arrived in Canmore last weekend, word spread quickly.
Bow Valley WildSmart Bear and Bear Safety & More put warnings and information on social media to alert people to obey any warnings or closures and to give 148 the space she needs if they come across her.
When the grizzly was in the Peaks of Grassi neighbourhood, residents watched her from the safety of their homes, while others stood at a trailhead to block people from walking or riding into an area where 148 had moved.
At one point, 148 crossed Spray Lakes Road near the Rundle Mountain Cycling Club's road race, not far from a feed station for cyclists. The bear showed no interest in the feed station and worked her way to the Canmore Nordic Centre.
The bear was also spotted on the Baby Beluga trail, where the Rundle's Revenge trail running event was stopped. The bear then moved to Banff Trail and was monitored by a conservation officer and volunteer, tracking her telemetry data.
Canmore resident Kim Titchener, who educates governments and businesses on bear safety and risk management, said 148 needs the public's help if she is continue living in the Bow Valley.
Titchener said Alberta Fish and Wildlife, which struggles with staff resources, manages bears differently than Parks Canada, and fears there's potential for the bear to be relocated when she's in this area.
She said this community in many ways has given provincial agencies the confidence residents can handle living with grizzly bears, but it's still ultimately up to the public to do the right thing in bear country to avoid wildlife conflicts.
Titchener said people should travel in groups, carry bear spray, obey closures and warnings, keep wildlife attractants secured, make lots of noise so as not to surprise a bear and keep dogs on leash. A recent study showed two-thirds of dogs were off-leash.
“Grizzlies are in trouble in Alberta and every bear counts. If relocated to another part of the province, she may not survive,” she said.
“Call your MLA and tell them you are willing to have a bear closure in the area to help keep grizzly 148 and others alive.”
Bear 148 is the daughter of bear 64, a well-known female thought to have died naturally at the age of 23, and bear 122, the dominant male bear of the Bow Valley. Like her mother did, 148 has captured the imagination of people.
Fish and Wildlife officers will continue to monitor 148's activity if she returns to Canmore.
“Any future response by our officers will depend on the bear's behaviour and, for that matter, on the behaviour of people in the area,” said Hoskin.
“The more bear smart people are, the better chance there will be that officers will not have to intervene.”
Before deciding to relocate a bear, Hoskin said officers must consider the bear's behaviour, level of habituation and how often the bear has turned to unnatural food sources.
“They must also consider it's age, it's health, if there is a suitable place to relocate it to and the likelihood of it returning to unnatural food sources, as well as it's likelihood of survival if relocated,” he said.
Hoskin said it's a continual process of assessing and reassessing a bear's activity with regard to both public safety and wildlife conservation.
“Part of the assessment process has been to work with Parks Canada to ensure we have the information we need in terms of the bear's past behaviour,” he said.
Canmore resident Jack Aiken was mountain biking with a friend and heading back the Peaks of Grassi neighbourhood when they came within close range of 148.
“We came around a bend and she was just sitting in the bush eating vegetation, probably about 10 feet off the trail,” he said.
The mountain bikers, carrying bear spray and making lots of noise, continued further along the trail to a safe distance before stopping to watch the collared bear for a few minutes.
“She looked pretty healthy and didn't seem to care that we were there,” said Aiken.
“The incident was very positive and you could tell when an animal is worried or stressed and she just went along her normal business and eating.”
Over the past 15 years, Aiken said he's had run-ins with bears on three occasions.
“I've been biking in the valley for years and I make lots of noise and I carry bear spray and haven't had a negative experience yet,” he said.
“I'm all for bear closures. If there had been closures in the area, then we would have respected that. For me to know bears are out there, that's great.”
Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager for Banff National Park, said Banff's resource conservation team kept the information flow open with provincial wildlife managers when 148 was in Canmore.
That said, Parks was “relieved” when she headed back to protected national park lands.
“Certainly, this is where most of her home range is,” Hunt said. “She's more familiar with how to get around her habitat, around the townsite and crossing structures safely.”
Hunt acknowledged it is challenging when 148 wonders onto provincial lands, and while he can't speculate on 148's future if she spends more time outside the park, he said he believes it's everyone goal to keep her alive.
“Certainly we work closely with Kananaskis and Alberta Environment and Parks,” he said.
“The plan is communication and trying to support each other between the provinces and federal lands and trying to reduce surprises.”
