Conservation officers are “confident” there was no bear attack despite hikers reporting “scary noises” in a bear and cubs encounter, Sunday evening (July 3).
The Heart Creek day use area as well as Canyon Trail and Heart Mountain Trail are closed near Lac Des Arcs, 15 kilometres east of Canmore, until further notice due to a bear and two young of year cubs using the area.
Hikers encountered the bruins at about 5:30 p.m., and an alarm was raised after they heard “scary noises” in the direction of a passing solo male hiker and the bears, said Arian Spiteri, a conservation officer with Alberta Parks.
“(The hikers) were just by the river and somebody had just passed them. A solo hiker had just passed by this party and right after seeing the solo hiker they scared the bear away and then shortly after that … they heard this noise. In their minds it was closely tied with the solo hiker and the bears retreating in the direction the solo hiker was travelling,” said Spiteri.
Armed teams of RCMP members and COs swept through the Heart Creek Trail area Sunday evening to search for any signs of the bears or hiker, and found nothing.
“We expect we would have found something … (there were) no vehicles left behind, and there have been no other reports or sightings since,” said Spiteri.
“We have to respond thinking that, because then you’re prepared. I think it was interpreted as (a bear attack). It was interpreted to be that, there was potential, so we have to respond as if it’s that.”
Spiteri said the bears haven’t been identified, but their fur was brown-coloured.
She added it’s impossible to speculate if the unsettling noise came from the bears or from a human, but she did say that cubs, if separated from their mother, have been known to make a screaming noise.
While searching the area, Spiteri noticed that berry season is under way in the Bow Valley and said that it is important for people to know.
“I was up there and looking at some of the berry bushes – berry season is here,” said Spiteri. “In this area we are finding that the berry crop has come in and bears are going to be feeding with their heads down, focused on packing on as many calories as they possibly can through berry season to carry them into denning season.”
Conservation officers remind the public and hikers to be aware of their surroundings, be observant, keep off headphones for listening to music, make lots of noise, keep pets on leash, carry bear spray and know how to use it.
