Grizzly bear 64’s three cubs have been seen hanging around the outskirts of the Banff townsite – without their famous mom.
The three two-and-a-half-year-old bruins were spotted eating grass near the Cave and Basin, along Mountain Avenue towards the Rimrock Resort and in a residential yard off Springs Crescent throughout Saturday (Oct. 5).
There was no sign of their celebrity mom, a 24-year-old female grizzly that has been dubbed the matriarch of the Bow Valley. By the Outlook’s deadline, there were still no reports of bear 64.
“We’re totally speculating, but something may have happened to 64 or she may have decided to separate from her offspring and head out on her own,” said Steve Michel, Parks Canada’s human-wildlife conflict specialist.
“It is also possible she may have separated from them for a couple of days, reunite and all den up together again.”
Bear 64’s whereabouts are difficult to place because a GPS collar that was put on her as part of a joint Canadian Pacific Railway-Parks Canada study last year malfunctioned, and has since been remotely removed.
Wildlife officials are also not picking up any signals from her ear transmitter, though that was getting towards the end of its lifespan. There have also been no reports of 64 being hit on the roads or train tracks.
“We haven’t been able to locate her, but that doesn’t mean she’s not still around,” said Michel.
Bear 64 has constantly defied the odds in Banff National Park, where many bears die at the hands of humans. She is highly tolerant of people and human development.
She miraculously manages to eke out a living in the most developed landscape where bears still survive, all the while navigating train tracks, roads and a bustling tourist town.
“We have seen grizzly bears in Banff that get to be 30 years old and still having cubs, though that’s at the extreme end of the spectrum for us,” said Michel.
“If she was able to live to be 30 years old that would be fantastic, but I expect sometime over the next few years might be the end of her life, but it’s hard to say.”
Research with the long-term Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project revealed cubs in this region, on average, typically stay with their mothers for about four years.
Michel said it is quite possible 64 has decided to separate from her offspring, though she did not send her last litter off on their own until they were three and a half years old.
“There’s a range when females depart from their offspring and sometimes it’s sooner than what we typically see and sometimes it’s a longer period of time,” said Michel.
“This is right within the range of what could happen and it’s certainly not out of the ordinary.”
The biggest natural threat to young bears out on their own is other bigger bears, while roads and train tracks are the deadliest human threat to their survival.
If the bears are in fact alone now, there are many challenges and threats ahead for them.
“The challenging thing is they’ve gone from being at the top of the bear world hierarchy by being accompanied by their mother to the absolute lowest point in the bear world pecking order,” said Michel.
“That will be challenging for them, as they may be more inclined to come closer to human facilities to seek security from larger, more dominant grizzly bears that may pose a danger to them.”
Bear 64 has done a very good job of navigating the busy Bow Valley, including the use of highway overpasses and underpasses and wildlife officials are hoping that knowledge sticks with her three young ones.
“The Bow Valley has a number of mortality threats, including the highway and railway, and these three young grizzlies are used to travelling in home ranges that includes those mortality threats,” said Michel.
“But whether they will have the necessary judgment on their own when not accompanied by their mother to avoid being struck on the highway or railway remains to be seen.”
Researchers first came to know bear 64 in 1999, when she was captured and fitted with a radio collar as part of the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project.
It was determined at that time she had not yet had cubs, but she has produced two litters since then, possibly even a third litter during an information gap on her between 2002 and 2006.
In 2006, 64 emerged from her winter’s hibernation with three cubs in tow. It was long thought she had just two, but genetic analysis obtained from hair at a crossing structure revealed she had triplets.
It is not known what happened to that third cub early on, but in 2009, the two remaining bear cubs separated from bear 64 when they were three and a half years old.
Sadly, both of the female cubs were killed at the hands of humans. Bear 109 was hit on the train tracks at the age of four and a half in 2010 and her sibling, 108, was killed on the Trans-Canada Highway the following year.
In 2011, 64 produced three more cubs.
Michel said he believes these three will stick together this year and den if they are now without their mother. Bear 64 was the first collared grizzly to head into the den last year, on Oct. 12.
“I’d be very surprised if the sibling group wouldn’t remain together quite closely, although how much they stay together over the next year or so remains to be seen,” he said. “Certainly, their chances of survival are going to be better if they stay together rather than decide to go their own way.”
Residents of Banff also have a big role to play in keeping bear 64’s offspring, and other bears, out of harm’s way, giving them space as they navigate the Bow Valley and making sure there are no attractants.
Michel said bears are fattening up in preparation for a long winter’s hibernation.
“It is still active bear season and this is a particularly critical time of year because bears are reaching that point where they’re going to start denning up over the next months to six weeks,” said Michel.
“During that time frame, bears will be readying to go into the den, so they are actively seeking any possible food to get the final fat on before they go into the den.”
As a result, Michel said it’s important people store food and garbage properly and make sure yards are clear of bird feeders, smelly attractants like greasy barbecues, recyclables and pet food.
In addition, fruit such as crabapples should be removed from trees.
“Everything should be stored properly so they don’t present a risk to bears by attracting them into the community,” said Michel.
All bear reports should be reported to Parks Canada at 403 762-1470.
