All of Kananaskis Country under bear warning, some trails closed

CBC

2 days ago

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With 17 bear advisories now in effect throughout the Bow Valley, Alberta Parks has issued a bear warning encompassing the entirety of Kananaskis Country.
The bear warning, put into effect on Tuesday, comes after multiple reports of bear bluff charges and close encounters in popular parts of Kananaskis.
Kananaskis Country, spanning more than 4,000 square kilometres of provincially managed land in southern Alberta, is home to many popular tourist destinations, including Grassi Lakes, Troll Falls and the Canmore Nordic Centre — all of which had bear advisories put in place during the last few months.
In an interview with CBC News, Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen said there hasn't been a Kananaskis-wide warning like this since 2016.
"This time of year in particular, the bears are feeding to fatten up for winter, so they're out foraging," he said.
He said the warning was put in place due to this year's abundant buffaloberry crop, with bears foraging for these small fruits throughout the Bow Valley.
"Buffaloberries to us might be a little bit sour, but the bears really like them, and that's why they're out there foraging at this time," Loewen said.
"And with an extremely high number of buffaloberries out there, then we know that the bears will be out there feeding on them, and there will be just a greater opportunity for people to interact with the bear, come into contact with the bear."
Of the 17 Alberta Parks bear advisories in place, the latest warning is different from the 16 others, as it encompasses all of Kananaskis rather than focusing on a specific area where bears have been seen or encountered.
"Normally when we have issues with bears, we know it's a particular bear in a particular area, so we just [implement] warnings for that area," Loewen said. "But since the buffaloberry issue is widespread, because they're growing everywhere across Kananaskis, we wanted to make sure that we provided a warning across the whole area."
The bear warning will likely remain in place for 10 to 14 days, Loewen said.
"We'll probably leave this on until the berries fall from the bushes," he said, adding that "they're starting to fall already."
In the meantime, Loewen said Alberta Parks continues to manage wildlife encounters through its aversive conditioning program.
Multiple closures in effect
Four of the current bear advisories have resulted in areas being closed off to the public.
Part of the Upper Kananaskis Lake Circuit Trail was closed Monday due to multiple bears feeding in the area, in addition to a reported grizzly bear bluff charge. The closed section stretches from the North Interlakes Day Use to White Spruce Day Use trailheads, and includes the 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition Interpretive Trail as well as the shoreline.
The Evan-Thomas Provincial Recreation Area's Bill Milne Trail is closed from Kananaskis Village to Mount Kidd RV Park, effective Aug. 7, due to multiple grizzly and black bears seen feeding in the area. The rest of the trail has a bear warning in place following a grizzly bear bluff charge in the section from Mount Kidd to Wedge Pond.
WATCH | Beware of bears while in the mountains during buffaloberry season:
Banff National Park is advising people to keep an eye out for bears because it's buffaloberry season in many areas. The berries are an important food source for bears.
The Buller Mountain Day Use area in Spray Valley Provincial Park was closed on Aug. 6 due to multiple grizzly bears — including mothers with cubs — being seen feeding on berries in the area.
A grizzly bear was observed feeding on a cow carcass in the area south of Gorge Creek Trail, resulting in a closure from that area west to Bluerock Creek Trail and east to Indian Oils trail gate, including all trails and routes within that area, effective Aug. 6.
'A bear bonanza'
Kim Titchener, the founder of Bear Safety & More, called this year's spike in sightings "a bear bonanza."
She suggested that increased visitation at this time of year plays a part in the Bow Valley's high number of bear sightings.
"When we see increased bear sightings and encounters, it can be because there's more human beings on the trails, and that's certainly possible with tourism," she said.
"And the other piece to that could be that the bears are congregating in areas where human beings are spending a lot of time," she said.
Titchener, who does bear safety consultations with members of the forestry and construction industries, said buffaloberries tend to grow in places that are frequented by humans.
"Berries grow really well on the sides of trails, and in open meadows, and even on the edges of construction zones," she said. "So people that are working out in bear country, and recreating in bear country, are going to see more encounters."
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Kim Titchener, a bear conflict expert, says staying safe in bear country starts with educating yourself about the area, making plenty of noise and carrying bear spray.
Titchener said it's important that people heading out to Kananaskis know what to do in the event of a bear encounter.
"The problem is that most of us human beings that are out here on the trail systems have not taken bear safety training [and] are not aware of what to do," she said.
"So for the part of the government, I can totally understand why they would want to put a mass warning up," Titchener said. "It's not because the bears are becoming dangerous; it's because we human beings are not taking precautions to avoid encounters in the first place."
She said hikers should make noise, travel in groups and keep dogs on-leash to avoid bear encounters.
"If you don't do that, you're going to end up in an encounter where a bear is going to feel surprised. It's going to get defensive, and we could potentially have a bear attack on our hands," Titchener said.
Multiple encounters involving the use of bear spray have been reported. According to Alberta Parks, bear spray should be deployed if a bear gets within four metres.
The Alberta Parks website offers detailed information on bear safety in Kananaskis Country.