A black bear, likely stressed at a roadside bear jam in Banff where several people had gotten out of their vehicles to view the animal, bit and deflated the tire of a vehicle last week.
The occupants stayed inside the car to view the bear, but other tourists had gotten out of their vehicles. The incident happened on Bow Valley Parkway, a few kilometres west of Protection Mountain just before noon Thursday (June 14).
Parks Canada officials say they can’t say for sure why the bear bit the rear right tire, noting it may have been curious, thought the tire was edible, or perhaps stressed out by the bear jam – a traffic jam caused by tourists stopping to look at bears near the road
“It appears, for some reason, the bear approached the vehicle, bit and punctured the tire,” said Jon Stuart-Smith, human-wildlife conflict specialist for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay. “The sound of air escaping from the tire surprised the bear and it took off after that happened.”
The black bear didn’t approach the window in this case, which is the kind of behaviour Parks Canada would expect to see if a bruin has been fed by people previously.
“A bear that has been food-conditioned will come right up to the window, associating the window and people inside with food,” said Stuart-Smith.
“We can’t say for sure, though. Maybe this animal has been fed and maybe that’s the reason it was curious and approached the vehicle.”
Bears are known to react to stressful situations, and Stuart-Smith said this incident is a good reminder that bears are powerful animals and people need to give them the space they need to feed roadside.
“Stressed bears bears will often bite things, including humans, to send a message that they’re upset, that they’re stressed and want whatever situation to go away,” he said.
“It’s a good reminder for people to stay inside their vehicles for their safety.”
In June of last year, a black bear damaged a tent and approached a vehicle, putting its paws up on the window of a truck. The incident forced temporary closure of Castle Mountain Campground.
“Whether or not that’s the same bear, we can’t say for sure. It could be a number of different bears that use that area,” said Stuart-Smith. “At this point, we’ll continue to monitor the situation.”
Bow Valley resident Kim Titchener, who educates governments and businesses on bear safety and risk management, said the bear was likely stressed by the situation, noting stressed bears are known to bite things, such as sticks or trees.
“We’re creating situations now where we’re stressing bears. We don’t know how many times a day these bears are being approached on the side of the road,” she said.
“We don’t know what the bear went through that day, but it’s a good indication this bear experienced harassment that day or days prior … it was probably sick of people getting too close.”
Titchener said people shouldn’t be stopping roadside when a bear is spotted, noting she advises people to slow down, put on hazard lights and move on.
“I strongly encourage people not to get out of their vehicles and to consider how hard this is for a bear when they’re having to go to the side of road to feed,” she said, noting some of the best spring greenup is roadside where tree clearing has opened up habitat.
“We have to be more cognizant these animals come here for food.”
