Latest news with #Kananaskis
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
This grizzly followed a Calgary couple along a popular trail until they finally roared at it
Howard Mah and Lori Arnason had never seen a wild grizzly until Saturday. And if they ever see one again, they'll be sure to be carrying bear spray the next time. The Calgary couple had set out for a short hike to Troll Falls in Alberta's Kananaskis Country on July 19 to celebrate their wedding anniversary — one they won't soon forget. They expected the trail to be busy, as it often is, but were pleasantly surprised, at first, to find they had it pretty much all to themselves. The solitude suddenly turned scary, however, after Mah sent Arnason ahead on the trail so he could take a photo of her. "And as I was walking ahead, he said, 'Oh, Lori, no, stop," she recalled. Mah had spotted a grizzly bear descending through a clearing, just behind his wife, toward the trail. "And then as the bear walked down and hit the trail, I was hoping he would just continue on," he said. "But he instead came onto the trail, saw us and then started walking toward us." Grizzly followed, snorted, rose on hind legs The frightened couple did their best to remain calm. "We knew not to run," Mah said. "And so we just started backing up ... and then, because I was taking photos of Lori, I just happened to have my phone in my hand, so I just quickly switched it to video." He captured more than a minute of video of the bear slowly pacing toward them as they retreated. At one point in the footage, the bear rises on its hind legs, snorts and waves its front paws in the air as it accelerates briefly toward the couple, before resuming its plodding pace. Mah said the animal made that "aggressive move" a few times during the encounter. "To be honest, my life did actually flash before me," he said of how it felt, in the moment. He estimates the bear came within about 15 metres of them as they continued to walk backwards, wondering if it would ever stop following them. "When he didn't look like he was going to give up, that's when I thought, 'Well, I've heard to make yourself large,'" Mah said. "So I put up both my hands, made myself as large as possible, and just roared as long as I could." "And so when Howard did that, then I stood beside Howard and did the same thing," Arnason said. "And it worked!" The bear, they said, finally walked off the trail and left them alone. They decided to cancel the rest of their hike to Troll Falls, returning immediately to the parking lot instead. One of several recent encounters The couple warned other would-be hikers in the parking lot about the grizzly, and then immediately reported the encounter to Alberta Parks and provided conservation officers with the video. Alberta Parks issued a bear warning for Troll Falls, citing a "grizzly bear bluff charge." It's one of several similar incidents in recent weeks. A grizzly warning was also issued for the Bill Milne trail on July 8 due to a bluff charge. And the popular Rawson Lake and Sarrail Ridge routes were closed on July 11 after a grizzly bear with cubs charged a group of hikers. Bluff charges typically occur when a bear feels threatened or is caught by surprise, bear safety expert Kim Titchener told CBC News after those incidents. "If you aren't making noise … the problem now is that bear thinks that you were trying to sneak up on them, and that means that they're going to feel threatened," she said. Lessons for next time Mah and Arnason said they realized, in retrospect, they were being too quiet on the trail. "We were just enjoying nature and, yeah, we weren't talking a lot, or loudly," Arnason said. The couple also said they wouldn't be caught without bear spray again. They had figured the Troll Falls trail is usually so popular with hikers that the chances of a bear encounter were low, but realize now that's no reason not to come prepared. They hope sharing their story will help others stay safe in bear country, and avoid similar encounters. "To have it right on the path with you, and no one else around, and no way of defending yourself — you just feel so vulnerable," Arnason said. "I thought we could die. I was just shaking afterwards."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
This grizzly followed a Calgary couple along a popular trail until they finally roared at it
Howard Mah and Lori Arnason had never seen a wild grizzly until Saturday. And if they ever see one again, they'll be sure to be carrying bear spray the next time. The Calgary couple had set out for a short hike to Troll Falls in Alberta's Kananaskis Country on July 19 to celebrate their wedding anniversary — one they won't soon forget. WATCH | Hikers cross paths with grizzly in Kananaskis: They expected the trail to be busy, as it often is, but were pleasantly surprised, at first, to find they had it pretty much all to themselves. The solitude suddenly turned scary, however, after Mah sent Arnason ahead on the trail so he could take a photo of her. "And as I was walking ahead, he said, 'Oh, Lori, no, stop," she recalled. Mah had spotted a grizzly bear descending through a clearing, just behind his wife, toward the trail. "And then as the bear walked down and hit the trail, I was hoping he would just continue on," he said. "But he instead came onto the trail, saw us and then started walking toward us." Grizzly followed, snorted, rose on hind legs The frightened couple did their best to remain calm. "We knew not to run," Mah said. "And so we just started backing up ... and then, because I was taking photos of Lori, I just happened to have my phone in my hand, so I just quickly switched it to video." He captured more than a minute of video of the bear slowly pacing toward them as they retreated. At one point in the footage, the bear rises on its hind legs, snorts and waves its front paws in the air as it accelerates briefly toward the couple, before resuming its plodding pace. Mah said the animal made that "aggressive move" a few times during the encounter. "To be honest, my life did actually flash before me," he said of how it felt, in the moment. He estimates the bear came within about 15 metres of them as they continued to walk backwards, wondering if it would ever stop following them. "When he didn't look like he was going to give up, that's when I thought, 'Well, I've heard to make yourself large,'" Mah said. "So I put up both my hands, made myself as large as possible, and just roared as long as I could." "And so when Howard did that, then I stood beside Howard and did the same thing," Arnason said. "And it worked!" The bear, they said, finally walked off the trail and left them alone. They decided to cancel the rest of their hike to Troll Falls, returning immediately to the parking lot instead. One of several recent encounters The couple warned other would-be hikers in the parking lot about the grizzly, and then immediately reported the encounter to Alberta Parks and provided conservation officers with the video. Alberta Parks issued a bear warning for Troll Falls, citing a "grizzly bear bluff charge." It's one of several similar incidents in recent weeks. A grizzly warning was also issued for the Bill Milne trail on July 8 due to a bluff charge. And the popular Rawson Lake and Sarrail Ridge routes were closed on July 11 after a grizzly bear with cubs charged a group of hikers. Bluff charges typically occur when a bear feels threatened or is caught by surprise, bear safety expert Kim Titchener told CBC News after those incidents. "If you aren't making noise … the problem now is that bear thinks that you were trying to sneak up on them, and that means that they're going to feel threatened," she said. Lessons for next time Mah and Arnason said they realized, in retrospect, they were being too quiet on the trail. "We were just enjoying nature and, yeah, we weren't talking a lot, or loudly," Arnason said. The couple also said they wouldn't be caught without bear spray again. They had figured the Troll Falls trail is usually so popular with hikers that the chances of a bear encounter were low, but realize now that's no reason not to come prepared. They hope sharing their story will help others stay safe in bear country, and avoid similar encounters. "To have it right on the path with you, and no one else around, and no way of defending yourself — you just feel so vulnerable," Arnason said. "I thought we could die. I was just shaking afterwards."
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Grizzly follows Calgary couple along popular trail in terrifying encounter
A Calgary couple out for a hike on the Troll Falls trail in Kananaskis got the scare of a lifetime after they encountered a grizzly bear. The pair say they tried to scare it away but it followed them, making threatening gestures. Despite their fear, they managed to get the terrifying encounter on tape.
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
This grizzly followed a Calgary couple along a popular trail until they finally roared at it
Social Sharing Howard Mah and Lori Arnason had never seen a wild grizzly until Saturday. And if they ever see one again, they'll be sure to be carrying bear spray the next time. The Calgary couple had set out for a short hike to Troll Falls in Alberta's Kananaskis Country on July 19 to celebrate their wedding anniversary — one they won't soon forget. They expected the trail to be busy, as it often is, but were pleasantly surprised, at first, to find they had it pretty much all to themselves. The solitude suddenly turned scary, however, after Mah sent Arnason ahead on the trail so he could take a photo of her. "And as I was walking ahead, he said, 'Oh, Lori, no, stop," she recalled. Mah had spotted a grizzly bear descending through a clearing, just behind his wife, toward the trail. "And then as the bear walked down and hit the trail, I was hoping he would just continue on," he said. "But he instead came onto the trail, saw us and then started walking toward us." Grizzly followed, snorted, rose on hind legs The frightened couple did their best to remain calm. "We knew not to run," Mah said. "And so we just started backing up ... and then, because I was taking photos of Lori, I just happened to have my phone in my hand, so I just quickly switched it to video." He captured more than a minute of video of the bear slowly pacing toward them as they retreated. At one point in the footage, the bear rises on its hind legs, snorts and waves its front paws in the air as it accelerates briefly toward the couple, before resuming its plodding pace. Grizzly encounter on Troll Falls trail in Kananaskis 43 minutes ago This grizzly bear followed Howard Mah and Lori Arnason along the Troll Falls trail in Alberta's Kananaskis Country on July 19, until the couple finally roared at it and the animal fled. Mah said the animal made that "aggressive move" a few times during the encounter. "To be honest, my life did actually flash before me," he said of how it felt, in the moment. He estimates the bear came within about 15 metres of them as they continued to walk backwards, wondering if it would ever stop following them. "When he didn't look like he was going to give up, that's when I thought, 'Well, I've heard to make yourself large,'" Mah said. "So I put up both my hands, made myself as large as possible, and just roared as long as I could." "And so when Howard did that, then I stood beside Howard and did the same thing," Arnason said. "And it worked!" The bear, they said, finally walked off the trail and left them alone. They decided to cancel the rest of their hike to Troll Falls, returning immediately to the parking lot instead. One of several recent encounters The couple warned other would-be hikers in the parking lot about the grizzly, and then immediately reported the encounter to Alberta Parks and provided conservation officers with the video. Alberta Parks issued a bear warning for Troll Falls, citing a "grizzly bear bluff charge." It's one of several similar incidents in recent weeks. A grizzly warning was also issued for the Bill Milne trail on July 8 due to a bluff charge. And the popular Rawson Lake and Sarrail Ridge routes were closed on July 11 after a grizzly bear with cubs charged a group of hikers. Bluff charges typically occur when a bear feels threatened or is caught by surprise, bear safety expert Kim Titchener told CBC News after those incidents. "If you aren't making noise … the problem now is that bear thinks that you were trying to sneak up on them, and that means that they're going to feel threatened," she said. Lessons for next time Mah and Arnason said they realized, in retrospect, they were being too quiet on the trail. "We were just enjoying nature and, yeah, we weren't talking a lot, or loudly," Arnason said. The couple also said they wouldn't be caught without bear spray again. They had figured the Troll Falls trail is usually so popular with hikers that the chances of a bear encounter were low, but realize now that's no reason not to come prepared. They hope sharing their story will help others stay safe in bear country, and avoid similar encounters. "To have it right on the path with you, and no one else around, and no way of defending yourself — you just feel so vulnerable," Arnason said.
CBC
3 days ago
- CBC
Caution advised as hungry bears look for buffaloberries in Bow Valley
Bear in mind that berry season has begun, experts say. As buffaloberries ripen throughout the Bow Valley, visitors to popular areas in the mountains are being advised to watch out for bears. Buffaloberries, which are critical to a bear's diet in the Rocky Mountains, grow throughout Banff National Park and Kananaskis — including near trails, campsites and other areas frequented by people. "We've already started to see some ripening berries, and that's an extremely important food source for our local bears," Parks Canada resource management officer Dan Rafla told CBC News. "It's probably one of the most, if not the most, important sources of food for both grizzly bears and black bears in this area." WATCH | Bears are now on the lookout for berries: Buffaloberry season: beware of bears while in the mountains 9 days ago 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. He said bears will be "highly focused" on eating the tiny berries, which are high in sugar and nutrition. Now that both bear species' mating seasons have largely ended, their priorities shift to eating as they prepare for hibernation. Even though it's months away, because bears spend around half the year dormant, it helps to get an early start on bulking up for the winter. "Bears are somewhat in a race to put on enough fat and reserves to survive the winter," Rafla said. "They'll get more intense as the season gets on to the point where they're feeding 20 hours a day." Other naturally-occurring options for Bow Valley and Banff National Park bears in the summer include chokecherries and huckleberries, but they don't compare to the abundance of buffaloberries. The Rockies "aren't the most productive landscape for bears" in terms of food availability, Rafla said. But the area looks like it has a good crop of buffaloberries this year, Rafla said. Buffaloberries have been seen a little early this year, likely due to warm temperatures in the valley bottom. That's good news after recent years saw poor berry growth in the Rockies, which can cause problems. "Sometimes we'll see a little bit more conflict and maybe desperation from a bear to seek out those food sources," he said. Be bear aware Seasonal trail restrictions in parts of Banff National Park are designed to minimize human-bear interactions during berry season, particularly in areas grizzly bears are known to frequent. Those restrictions, which include requiring hikers to remain close together in groups of at least four adults, in addition to requiring bear spray and not permitting dogs, apply to Allenby Pass and part of the Lake Minnewanka area. The Lake Minnewanka restrictions are in place July 10 to September 15 every year, while the Allenby Pass restrictions run August 1 to September 30. Nick de Ruyter, program director of the BioSphere Institute's WildSmart program, said bears are likely to be distracted and not paying attention to their surroundings while they feed on buffaloberries. He said it's important visitors avoid doing anything that could surprise or provoke the animals. "We really need to be making lots of noise so we don't surprise them while they're feeding, and even when we do make noise, they might still not be paying attention because they're so focused on eating," he said. "They really, really need that food, and they will be very focused on getting that food, and that's the only thing on their mind." Berries grow easily in places with human disturbance due to better access to sunlight, de Ruyter said, adding it's important to remember this when buffaloberries frequently grow along trails and near parks, campsites, picnic areas and other popular places. "If you see a bear feeding along the trail, don't try and sneak past it. Wait or find another way around, and just give them that space that they need to feed," he said. Carrying bear spray is important, but it should only be used for defence and not to remove a bear harmlessly feeding in a hiker's way, de Ruyter said. He added anyone who sees a bear feeding on the side of the road should not pull over or get out of their car, potentially creating a bear jam. "I know it's hard to do, because people like seeing bears, but we really have to give them the space to feed, and basically thrive and survive," de Ruyter said. Buffaloberries are typically ripe from mid-July to September, according to Parks Canada. To avoid attracting bears in search of berries, the towns of Banff and Canmore offer financial incentive programs for property owners to remove fruit trees.
