Latest news with #KananaskisCountry
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Rare encounters with K-Country wolf surprise visitors, make Alberta Parks staff wary
Social Sharing A lone grey wolf encountered by multiple people in Kananaskis Country has possibly become acclimated to the presence of humans, according to Alberta Parks. In a statement to CBC News, Ministry of Forestry and Parks press secretary Neil Singh said the wolf has been seen in campgrounds and along the road on numerous occasions. "The wolf appears to be habituated and does not avoid people as wild wolves typically do," Singh said. "Conservation officers and Alberta Parks staff are monitoring the situation, and have been using aversive conditioning methods when possible, to discourage the wolf from approaching people." Spotting the wolf on the evening of July 16 was longtime wildlife photographer Alec McGrath's first time seeing one up close. "I've been waiting for the last four years to find one ever since I moved out," the Canmore resident told CBC News. He said he was surprised to see the wolf trotting along Highway 40 in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, an area popular with travellers. "Every so often he would look back behind him and check to see if someone else was coming, keep trotting up the road, look back one more time, check to see if anybody else was coming, and he did that several times," McGrath said. McGrath said while the wolf did not appear bothered by him or other passing vehicles, it didn't approach his vehicle either. Audrey Niles, another traveller who saw the wolf earlier that morning, said the wolf seemed to ignore her vehicle as it passed. "I was kind of surprised to see that this wolf paid no attention to us or our vehicle … it was definitely not how I expected a wolf to act," she said. Wolf is possibly 'food-conditioned' In his statement, Singh said "while we cannot confirm what has caused this behaviour, the wolf may have accessed or received human food or rewards from the public, potentially leading to it becoming food-conditioned." Singh's statement did not indicate when or where exactly the problematic wolf had been seen. As of publication time, there are no public advisories in place regarding this wolf, though multiple warnings and closures have been issued throughout Kananaskis Country due to bear activity. The behaviour described by McGrath is "absolutely not" typical for a wild wolf, said Nick de Ruyter, program director of the BioSphere Institute's WildSmart program. "Wolves typically are wary of people, and will do their best to stay away from people, so the fact that this wolf isn't afraid of people … definitely tells me that it's food-conditioned and habituated," he said, comparing it to bear habituation. "Once they're not afraid of people, and don't run away when they see people, that means they're too comfortable," he said. "That's not a good thing." Once a predatory animal acquires a taste for human food, de Ruyter said, it typically doesn't end well. "You get an animal that gets bold, more aggressive, and starts approaching people … once it gets to that point, it's almost too late," he said. "There's really no other option other than potentially relocating an animal or euthanizing it." Government of Alberta data suggests there are around 7,000 grey wolves throughout the province. While seldom seen in the wild, they're not considered an endangered or at-risk species in Alberta. According to de Ruyter, wolves are rarely encountered in the Bow Valley, especially up close. "They are certainly around, but we don't really see them that often," he said of the elusive animals, adding that he's come across wolf tracks on numerous occasions and found multiple wolves through trail camera footage, but only ever seen "one or two" in person. While Alberta Parks did not provide a description of the wolf's appearance, the one seen by McGrath, Niles and others exhibited unusual behaviour consistent with an animal not bothered by human activity. "Based on all the sightings, I'm sadly willing to bet that is the one," McGrath said. McGrath said the wolf was "probably a bit larger than an average German shepherd," describing it as likely being a younger animal. Wolves can typically be distinguished from more common canids like coyotes or stray dogs by their significantly larger size and more muscular build, along with characteristics like rounder ears and more prominent snouts.
CTV News
23-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Lone wolf in K-Country not afraid of people: Alberta Parks
Alberta Parks says a lone grey wolf, believed to have become food-habituated, has been seen approaching campground and roadways in Kananaskis Country. (Pexels) A lone wolf is causing problems in Kananaskis Country, the provincial government says. In a statement to CTV News, Alberta Parks said it has received reports of 'increased encounters' with a lone grey wolf in Kananaskis Country. The animal appears to have lost its fear of people and has been seen numerous times in campgrounds and along roadways. 'While we cannot confirm what has caused this behaviour, the wolf may have accessed or received human food or rewards from the public, potentially leading to it becoming food-conditioned,' officials said. 'Food-conditioned animals are at higher risk for being involved in human-wildlife conflicts. For this reason, we ask that the public never feed or approach wildlife.' The province said conservation officers and Alberta Parks staff are monitoring the situation and are taking steps to discourage the wolf from approaching people. No closures have been associated with the behaviour of this animal. All sightings of this wolf or other food-habituated wildlife should be reported to Kananaskis Emergency Services at 403-591-7755.
CBC
22-07-2025
- CBC
Grizzly encounter on Troll Falls trail in Kananaskis
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.
CBC
20-07-2025
- CBC
Grizzly bear bluff charges lead to Kananaskis closures, warnings
Seven bear advisories — five warnings and two closures — are currently in place throughout Kananaskis Country, including at popular hiking trails and in an area near the town of Canmore. Two separate grizzly bear encounters are behind two of the advisories: a warning at the Bill Milne trail from Wedge Pond to Mount Allan Drive effective July 8, and a closure of the Rawson Lake trail and Sarrail Ridge area effective July 11. Both cases involved grizzly bears bluff-charging hikers, according to Alberta Parks. Laurie Brewster told CBC News she was hiking the Rawson Lake trail with her daughter on July 11 when she saw a grizzly bear with cubs charge another group of hikers. "It gets your heart pounding, for sure, when you can see how fast they run, and you're not sure what their intentions are," she said. She was a safe distance away from what happened, but said she reached out to Alberta Parks to provide details of what she witnessed ahead of the closure being put in place. "When she did the bluff charge, we heard people yelling 'bear, bear' really loud," Brewster said. "I understand it probably is not going to result in an attack when you see them bluff charge, but it's still a scary thing to witness," she said. Bluff charges typically occur when a bear feels threatened or is caught by surprise, bear safety expert Kim Titchener said. "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. "And if they have cubs with them, they're going to feel like you must be sneaking up on them because you want to take their cubs away or hurt their cubs." "They hear us coming, or they smell us coming, and they generally get out of the way," she said. But Brewster said the incident she saw seemed to defy that. "The thing about this bluff charge that's surreal is it wasn't a surprise encounter, because [Sarrail Ridge] is fully open and fully exposed," she said. "So that's why I wasn't understanding why she was running, because nobody's surprised her." Alberta Parks bear advisories remain in place until the bears in question leave the area, Ministry of Forestry and Parks press secretary Neil Singh told CBC News in a statement. He said incidents reported between July 11 and 16 include "a grizzly with two cubs charging hikers near Sarrail Ridge, a bluff charge by a grizzly near the University of Calgary Research Station, and a grizzly approaching hikers on the Smutwood Trail before walking away." He did not confirm how many people were involved in any of the incidents or whether there were any injuries. Commonwealth Valley and surrounding area is closed effective July 15 due to "multiple grizzly bears frequenting and feeding in the area," according to Alberta Parks. "The Kananaskis grizzly bear aversive conditioning program, in place since 2000, plays a key role in reducing conflicts and promoting coexistence," Singh said. Warnings for an increase in black bear sightings are in place for Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park and the Grassi Lakes trail system and neighbouring Reclaimer Trail. A warning is in place for all Peter Lougheed Provincial Park campgrounds, effective June 18, after "a black bear accessed and damaged an unoccupied tent at Boulton Creek Campground, which contained food attractants," according to Alberta Parks. It's unclear whether the bear accessed any human food, the warning reads. There have also been other black bear sightings at the campground, contributing to the warning. Titchener said bears are more likely to be seen along trails and near campgrounds at this time of year as they seek out buffaloberries, which often grow in places that have experienced human disturbance. "I know that people often want to walk on some of the more popular trails, or they think, 'Oh, I'm in the campground, I'm fine, I'm not going to see a bear,'" she said. "The reality is that our bear population, they're on the sides of the trails right now, they're in the campgrounds sometimes, because they're seeking out areas where there's lots of berries." Titchener said bears at campsites are also at risk of being exposed to human food and becoming food-conditioned, resulting in them needing to be relocated or euthanized. "The bears are feeding on berries, and they walk by a campsite and [campers have] left the cooler out or any type of food," she said. "That bear might be tempted to come in and feed on that food source, which puts that bear at risk for having to be put down."
Bloomberg
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Key Takeaways From Summit of G-7 Leaders in Canada
Below are the key takeaways from our blog coverage of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Kananaskis, Canada. For more, click here for our TOPLive blog.
