BANFF – A bear that trampled on a tent in Banff’s backcountry has forced the evacuation and closure of the entire shoreline and all campgrounds along Lake Minnewanka.
The incident occurred at LM 11 campground on Monday (July 9), the evening before restricted access was meant to go into place. This new full closure overrides that travel restriction, which banned bikers and dogs and required people to hike in a group of four.
Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager for Banff National Park, said a couple returned to their tent after cooking dinner at LM11 backcountry campground when they discovered the tent was squished.
“They believed a bear had been in there so they packed up and left the area,” he said, noting they were the only campers in the campground and reported the incident as soon as they could.
“We went out and investigated. There were claw marks on the therm-a-rest and it looked like a bear rooted around looking for a food reward.”
Hunt said there was a wine glass left near the tent, but there were nothing inside the tent that would have attracted a bear.
“The wine glass may have an interesting odour,” he said. “The message is don’t leave anything in your tent, whether it’s toothpaste or deodorant, and have all attractants in the food cache.”
LM8 and LM9 were already closed under the restricted access for Lake Minnewanka, but campers at other campgrounds and any hikers were brought out on a boat.
It is unknown if the bear was a grizzly or black bear, but staff will scour through remote camera footage to get a better sense of bear activity in the area.
Hunt said there was no sign of a bear in the area when Parks Canada went to investigate.
He said there is nothing to indicate there is any connection between this incident and a surprise encounter involving a grizzly bear with her cub charging and swiping at a hiker about a month ago.
“We’ve closed the area for the next few weeks and we will be monitoring the situation,” said Hunt.
Lake Minnewanka is on the edge of one of three core areas for grizzly bears in the park containing critical bear habitat, and a concentration of female grizzlies live and raise their cubs there.
Female grizzly bears there are dependent upon buffaloberries, which grow in abundance there. Grizzly bears in this region depend heavily on berries to put on weight for hibernation. If crops allow, grizzlies can eat up to 250,000 buffaloberries a day in order to store enough fat reserves.
Over an eight-year period from 1998 to 2005, five bear attacks occurred in two locations in Banff National Park—Allenby Pass near Bryant Creek, and on the Aylmer Pass trail near Lake Minnewanka.
All of the bear attacks resulted from hikers travelling alone or in a small group, surprising female grizzlies with cubs along these trails during berry season. Surprise bear encounters involving cyclists have also occurred along the Minnewanka Trail.
The closure applies Minnewanka Lakeshore trail and vicinity from Stewart Canyon to the Banff National Park boundary at Devil's Gap, including the Aylmer Pass trail. All campgrounds are closed – Lm8, Lm9, Lm11, Lm20, Lm22, Lm31.
Anyone caught violating the closure may be charged and fined up to $25,000 in court.
