Did you know that WildSmart is one of three programs of the Biosphere Institute, a local charity? Our work relies entirely on donations and sponsors.
If you would like to support our community-based efforts to promote human-wildlife coexistence, please donate!
The information below is a compilation of bear information provided by government agencies and unconfirmed sightings reported by the public over the last week. It is not intended to be used as a real-time, complete record of where bears are in the valley.
BEAR ACTIVITY UPDATE (Oct.24-31, 2024)
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
It was another quiet week for bear sightings in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country, even though they are still out on the landscape. According to GPS collar data, some female grizzly bears have moved up to higher elevations in denning territory and they will likely remain at or near their den sites, but other collared (and non-collared) grizzlies continue to be seen out and about in K-Country searching for last minute calories. With food getting scarce, it is extra important for campers and day users to make sure NO attractants are left unattended that could attract bears. Remote camera and collar data have shown that some males like to stay out on the landscape into mid-December.
With this in mind, it is important that we don’t become complacent when heading out on the trails and that we are mentally prepared for possible encounters with wildlife! Remember to carry bear spray in an easily accessible location (not in your backpack), know how to use it and use it if required. Bear spray should be carried year-round and is also effective against other wildlife such as cougars, wolves, coyotes and elk that are all active year-round.
Bears are opportunistic feeders and will eat anything that is available to them, so please make sure your yard is free of all potential attractants that bears and other wildlife might try to eat - or you may face steep fines and be responsible for killing a bear! These attractants include fruit (both on trees and on the ground), PUMPKINS, pet food, bird feeders, garbage, recycling and greasy bbq’s.
You can help keep bears and other wildlife out of trouble by bringing your pumpkins inside when you go to bed tonight after trick-or-treating and remember to dispose of them in Residential Food Waste Containers. It is a very simple act that can keep yourself and your neighbourhood safe!
A home security camera captured a black bear red-handed as it made off with a pumpkin from a front porch in Connecticut.
Elk rutting season is winding down but numerous elk continue to be seen all throughout town which means you have to be alert and you may have to choose an alternate route while out for a walk/run/ride. Give elk lots of space, at least 30m or 3 school bus lengths, and never try to sneak past them. Never get between a male elk and the female elk and keep pets on a leash.
Remember to drive carefully, obey speed limits, and scan for wildlife that may be feeding or lingering roadside. Motorists need to be extra alert (especially at dawn and dusk) as the days are getting shorter and the number of darkness hours are increasing.
Bow hunting season is open in the Bow Valley. Due to the nature of the activity, hunters need to be cautious as they are intentionally quiet on the landscape. If you are recreating, please remain alert of your surroundings, avoid dead animals and always carry bear spray!
Elk grazing at the Canmore Recreation Centre on Oct.25, 2024.
You can also submit your report using the Report-A-Poacher Online form or contact your local district Fish and Wildlife office.
SOME THINGS TO ‘BEAR’ IN MIND
Every time you head out on the trails you need to be vigilant and mentally prepared for possible encounters with wildlife! It is also safer to hike, bike, run, or ski in a group. Make lots of noise when out on the trails, and avoid recreating at dusk, dawn or at night which is when cougars and other wildlife are most active. Be aware of your surroundings by periodically checking behind you to make sure there are no animals following you and by not wearing earbuds/headphones, which will limit your ability to hear approaching wildlife.
Even though the bears have or will enter their dens soon, there are still many species that do not hibernate (i.e. cougars, wolves, coyotes, deer and elk) that you need to be aware of and prepared to encounter while out on the trails.
A cougar family caught on camera at this time of year in 2020. Photo courtesy of Alberta Forestry & Parks.
Make your voice heard!
The Government of Alberta is seeking input to help inform a made-in-Alberta Nature Strategy that guides how we maintain, conserve and sustainably manage the province's nature for years to come.
Fill out this short, online survey by November 7, 2024, to ensure that the strategy reflects Albertans' perspectives, values and priorities for nature.
Connected: A Parks Canada Podcast is available on major podcast streaming platforms. This new educational tool that Parks Canada recently published, has one season with six episodes. Each episode is about a different species at risk in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay, and features an interview with the specialists who work in the parks. The episode list includes the grizzly bear, westslope cutthroat trout, black swift, wolverine, whitebark pine, and little brown bat. CLICK HERE for more information and list of episodes.
This week we are featuring the fourth episode about the Wolverine - Description: How do you learn about an animal that you never see!?! Wildlife Ecologist Anne Forshner talks about the challenges, and solutions, to studying wolverines. These rare animals avoid humans and need large areas of wilderness to survive. Journey into the wild with us and find out how you can contribute to wolverine research.
Remote camera image of a Wolverine in Banff National Park. Photo credit Parks Canada.
WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WORDS OF WISDOM
Join Wildlife Ambassador Karen to learn about signs left by wildlife.
WEEKLY WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WHEREABOUTS
In case you have not seen them yet, our amazing Volunteer Wildlife Ambassadors have been heading out onto trails and trailheads. You can find them talking to people about responsible trail use and staying safe while recreating in bear country. This week they have been at Elevation Place in Canmore reminding residents to keep pumpkins indoors until Oct.31, bring them back inside before going to bed, and dispose of them properly in Residential Food Waste Containers. Note: the locations they are stationed at may change at the last minute. Keep an eye out for the Wildlife Ambassadors next time you are out on the trails in the Bow Valley and K-Country. If you see them on the trails, be sure to say ‘hi’ and have a chat with them!
WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS
Canmore residents urged to keep Halloween pumpkins inside to avoid attracting bears.
A hunter in Alaska is found dead after being mauled by a bear.
Wildlife fence through Canmore comes with no new wildlife crossings.
Two Canmore wildlife conservationists honoured at Banff Mountain Festival.
Piikani Nation hunts first bison in Banff in 150 years.
Study shows Polar bears are suffering paw injuries likely driven by the warming Arctic.
Polar bears are encountering more diseases, bacteria and parasites as sea ice melts.
Ranger blasts roadside bear with bear spray in Yellowstone National Park.
Woman's miracle survival after jumping in 'to swim' with Polar Bears at Berlin Zoo.
Famous mama grizzly bear killed by car was an accident, Wyoming officials say.
The death of grizzly 399, the world’s most famous grizzly bear, could have been prevented.
A curious bear is caught on camera standing up and stealing a trash can in Saraland, Alabama.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
Halloween is tonight! Pumpkins are a wildlife attractant to all sorts of animals, not just bears, and we all need to do our best to avoid attracting wildlife into residential areas. If you don't want a bear in your yard, or to get a bear relocated or killed, make sure you don't provide it with a meal! Pumpkins can be put outside tonight to be enjoyed by trick-or-treaters but make sure you bring them back inside before going to bed!
After Halloween, please dispose of your pumpkins properly and do not leave them outside inviting them to get smashed up by pranksters or eaten by wildlife. You don’t want to attract a visitor to your door after Halloween like in this video. In Canmore, pumpkins should be disposed of in the bear-proof Residential Food Waste Containers and remember to remove candles and other non organic decorations!
Pumpkins are a wildlife attractant to all sorts of animals, not just bears. Please dispose of your pumpkins properly. DO NOT leave them out in your yard!
Bears continue to be drawn into town by fruit trees and we need your help to ensure the safety of both people and bears! If you have a fruit tree, such as a crabapple, mountain ash or chokecherry - picking fruit every year is a lot of work so the recommended long-term solution is to remove your fruit tree. There is still plenty of money remaining in the budget this year for the Town of Canmore’s Fruit Tree Removal Incentive Program so we urge you to consider removing your fruit tree now while the funds are available!
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
On behalf of all the staff at the Biosphere Institute, THANK YOU Bow Valley for voting us the Best Environmental Program in Canmore in Best of the Bow 2024! We are so honoured to receive this recognition again and look forward to continue working together with all of you to address human-wildlife coexistence and climate change challenges! Many thanks also to the Rocky Mountain Outlook for all their hard work in putting this event on year after year.
Polar Bear Week is the first week of November and this year runs from Oct.27-Nov.2. The theme this year is polar bear-human coexistence. Polar bears are already starting to gather on the shores of Hudson Bay to wait for freeze-up so they can return to hunting seals. During Polar Bear Week, we celebrate the bears and draw attention to the need to take action on climate change … and you can help! Sea ice loss from human-caused climate change is the single biggest threat to polar bears. As an exercise for today, you could try reimagining your community in a completely sustainable light. You can help promote clean transportation and projects that reduce the number of vehicles on our roads. You can also applaud and practice energy-efficient construction standards that set new efficiency guidelines for heating and cooling systems, insulation, and lighting.
This year, Polar Bears International is raising funds to underwrite their coexistence efforts while also supporting their other conservation efforts across the Arctic. Helping polar bears and people live safely with each other is critically important as more polar bears are spending more time onshore as the sea ice melts. Here are some cool facts about polar bears to kick off your weekend!
Photo by Meril Darees/Polar Bears International.
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 15 - Biosphere Institute’s 3rd Annual Community Square Dance Fundraiser!
The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley invites you to join us for some boot stompin' fun at our third annual Square Dance Community Fundraiser! The most fun you can have with your boots on...
We will provide you with an incredible live band, light snacks and so much laughing your belly will hurt the next day! Dress to impress in your best Western wear! Prizes for "Best dressed" and "Most enthusiastic" dancer.
Friday, November 15, 2024
Doors open: 6:30 PM at the Cornerstone Theatre in Canmore
Dance begins at 7:30 PM and runs until late.
General Admission: $45+processing fees
Silent auction, draw prizes and more! All profits go to supporting the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley. All are welcome! We welcome young and old cowboys, cowgirls, and cowpals! No dance experience or partner necessary. Please let us know if you have any accessibility concerns that we should know about. If affordability is a barrier to this event, please reach out to tanya@biosphereinstitute.org. Since we would love to make this an inclusive event for all, we have a limited number of lower priced tickets available. The past two years have sold out, so get your tickets soon. Yeehaw, see you there!
Curious what the event is like? Check out this awesome video from last year by Greg Monforton!
November 24 - Melodies for a Resilient Future: Jasper Benefit Concert
Join us for a fun evening of musical entertainment and engaging speakers to raise funds for Jasper Wildfire relief. Click here for tickets.
Presented in partnership with Scott Diehl and Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley, 100% of the evening's proceeds go to the Jasper Community Team Society to benefit Jasper fire victims.
Digital Hobo and Friends will provide fun and evocative live music. Songs about community, hope and adaptation during these days of rapidly changing climate. Enjoy new songs from the 2025 release Climate Stories.
Sarah Elmeligi is the current MLA for Banff-Kananaskis. She has extensive experience in wilderness and parks conservation with Alberta Parks and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. Sarah will speak on community resilience in the era of wildfires.
Ryan Bray is a long time resident of Jasper. Tragically, he lost his home to the fire. Ryan will talk to us about the lived experience of a wildfire refugee in a mountain town in Alberta.
Caitlin Miller from Town of Canmore will update us on the activities in the Bow Valley to adapt to the increasing threat of wildfire. Emergency preparedness, firesmarting, and fire buffers will be discussed.
Please remember BEARS CAN BE ENCOUNTERED ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!
Report any sightings of a bear, cougar, wolf or any aggressive wildlife in Kananaskis Country or the Bow Valley to Kananaskis Dispatch at 403.591.7755