A well-known female grizzly bear has caused temporary closure of the front side of the Lake Louise ski hill several times over the past week because she’s been feeding on early season greenup.
Ski hill staff were quick to shut down the front side for grizzly bear 138 when she first showed up on Pine Cone Way, Wiwaxy and Cameron’s Way last Tuesday (April 19). She showed up again on the weekend and today (April 25), the front side was off limits to skiers again.
The bear was seen on the Men’s Downhill and former Olympic chairlift line early Monday, and, despite efforts to haze her out of the area, she remained on the ski hill. Skiers were directed to the back side by going up and down on the gondola only.
“The weather has been exceptionally warm for over a month, and the grass is coming out and it’s starting to green up,” said Dan Markham, the ski resort’s director of brand and communications. “It’s perfect for her to come out.”
Bear 138, nicknamed Olivia by ski hill staff, is believed to be about 10 years old.
She emerged from the den in spring of 2014 with two cubs in tow, but the female headed into the den that fall without her cubs. It’s believed a large, male grizzly killed the young-of-year cubs. There are no new cubs in sight this spring.
This female bear is the same bruin that forced an area closure in the past when she denned in the Pipestone Bowl region near the ski hill. She uses the ski hill as part of her home range.
“She mostly comes out on the back side, “ said Markham.
Markham said most of the skiers were excited to see the bear last Tuesday as she meandered across runs on the front side for a couple of hours, adding skiers were understanding of the need to close the front side to give her space.
“There was lots of excitement and anticipation,” said Markham.
Parks Canada’s wildlife experts have been monitoring the bear daily. The GPS component of bear 138’s collar no longer works, but they are able to monitor her sporadically using the VHF component of her collar.
Jon Stuart-Smith, a Parks Canada human-wildlife conflict specialist for Lake Louise, said attempts have been made to haze the bear out of the area.
On Monday, he said, resource conservation staff were out trying to haze her again.
“We’re letting her decide how she wants to move, which direction she wants to go in,” he said.
“We’ve been working with the ski hill to make sure that none of the runs she’s on are open. The ski hill has been accommodating us in making sure those runs are closed to the public whenever she’s in the area.”
Stuart-Smith said bear 138 is taking advantage of early season greenup in the area, noting it’s not unusual for a female without cubs to be out of the den at this time.
“With the lack of snow at lower elevations, she’s wanting to be in the ski hill area already and keying in on early vegetation greenup,” he said.
“Hopefully she will move to an area where vegetation is greening up that is away from the ski hill.”
Parks Canada will continue to manage the situation with temporary closures of certain runs and the front side as need be, noting there are no plans to implement a formal area closure or warning.
“Right now, we’ve been able to manage visitor safety and allow her to access early season vegetation in this way,” said Stuart-Smith.
“If she continues to persist at the ski area, we may look at implementing a caution or possibly a closure, depending on where she remains active, but we’re not doing that at this point.”
The last day of skiing at Lake Louise is this coming Sunday (May 1). The first day of the summer sightseeing operation begins May 13.
