A black bear in search of food throughout the Banff townsite has been removed to a remote region of Banff National Park in the hope he will den up for the winter without getting into trouble.
The young male bear was initially relocated from southwest Calgary to the Waiparous area in mid-September and showed up in Banff Friday night (Oct. 28), travelling all over the townsite.
Steve Michel, human-wildlife conflict specialist, said it is not known for sure whether or not the bear got into garbage or human food in Calgary, but the bruin’s behaviour suggests he is food-conditioned.
“He didn’t get into any garbage or attractants in Banff that we’re aware of, but he was certainly moving quite widely throughout the townsite,” he said.
“We have no confirmation that he got into garbage in Calgary, but he’s certainly searching around for feeding opportunities in developed areas and his behaviour at this point indicates that’s a strong possibility.”
The young black bear was unknown to Banff’s wildlife officials, but he did have an ear tag, allowing them to track down information through Fish and Wildlife.
The bear had previously been relocated from Calgary on Sept. 24 to Hunter Valley near Waiparous. It is not the same bear that made media headlines in Calgary last month in the city’s southwest near Lakeview.
This black bear was captured up a tree in a Muskrat Street backyard by Banff’s wildlife officers and moved to an area on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway between Banff and Canmore, Saturday morning (Oct. 29).
The bear was back in Banff Sunday night, prompting Parks to take him to a more remote region of the park, near Ya Ha Tinda, on Monday.
Wildlife officials in Banff no longer typically relocate bears from one area to another, but in this case, Michel said they are trying to “buy him some time close to den-up”.
“We were on him fairly quickly and he didn’t get a chance to settle in, so we’re going to give him another opportunity and move him north towards Ya Ha Tinda,” he said. “Hopefully, he will make it to den-up and stay out of trouble.”
Michel said the bear may have been attracted to Banff by a variety of crab apples. There are around 35 of the trees in various neighbourhoods throughout Banff.
He said Parks urges people to pick fruit from trees early, or, if they are unable, come up with a plan to replace the trees in the long-term with non-fruit bearing trees.
“He wasn’t able to find any garbage because we have secure garbage containers, but I suspect he was attracted by a variety of crab apple trees present in town,” he said.
Fall is the time of year where curious bears typically wander into town in search of an easy snack as they prepare to fatten-up before the long winter’s hibernation.
“We ask everyone to be very vigilant with attractants, whether it’s cleaning off barbecues, properly storing garbage, making sure recyclables are away or bird seed not out,” said Michel.
“It’s that time of year when bears are looking for easy food, and this year, where in some cases it might not have been a very good berry season, they may be particularly hungry.”
The last time Parks Canada was forced to destroy a habituated black bear was in 2008. On that occasion, a bear got into garbage, crab apples and compost at Banff’s wastewater treatment plant over a three-week period.
Parks Canada is also pleading with the public to put away pumpkins now that Halloween is over amid fears the jack-o-lanterns will attract wildlife to the townsite, including bears.
Wildlife officials say Parks Canada recognizes Oct. 31 is a time of celebration, but note coyotes, deer and elk have fed on jack-o-lanterns in the past, and an opportunistic black bear would also do so given a chance.
“At the end of day, leaving a pumpkin out is really no different than hanging a bag of garbage on the front steps,” said Michel.
“We’re willing to cut people some slack so they can celeb- rate, they have to be prompt in putting pumpkins away.”
