The bears are out in Banff.
The first reported bear sighting was of a black bear on Tunnel Mountain on Saturday (March 31), while the first grizzly bear was spotted on the train tracks by Muleshoe on Monday evening (April 2).
Parks Canada wildlife experts said even though there’s snow on the ground, the bears are going to be coming out of their dens in the next couple of weeks.
“It’s bear season again and we’ll have constant sightings starting to trickle in and continue to increase over the next few weeks,” said Steve Michel, Banff National Park’s human-wildlife conflict specialist.
“It’s definitely bear season. People should be thinking of that, whether they’re walking on the edge of town with their dog, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or hiking – and they should carry bear spray.”
The black bear was spotted on Tunnel Mountain, on the edge of the Banff townsite, around 10 p.m. Saturday, and immediately reported to Banff’s warden office.
The unmarked grizzly bear was reported to Parks Canada by three different Canadian Pacific Railway train crews over a 1.5 kilometre stretch of the line, west of Banff, over the course of an hour.
“This is the time of year where there’s very little natural food available on the landscape because everything is still snow-covered,” said Michel. “It’s not unexpected to have bears seeking foraging opportunities along the railway tracks.”
The first verified bear sighting last year was on March 30, when a large male grizzly was seen meandering through snow-covered meadows at Hillsdale off the Bow Valley Parkway.
In 2010, a grizzly was spotted between March 17 and 23 walking along the train tracks near Johnston Canyon, while in 2009, two adult grizzlies were seen March 24 near Backswamp.
In 2008, a remote camera captured an image of a grizzly crossing one of the highway overpasses on March 16, and in 2007, a grizzly was filmed on the second overpass on March 25.
By contrast, in 1999, the earliest grizzly appeared on May 27.
Michel said the emergence of bears is a great reminder that bear season is beginning, that it’s time to brush up on bear safety and ensure all bear attractants are stored indoors.
Michel said residents should make sure barbecues are clean, and recycling, garbage, illegal bird feeders and any unnatural food sources are all stored away properly.
“People should be quite vigilant if they’ve been a bit sloppy over the winter so that non-natural attractants are stored away properly,” he said.
Any bear sightings should be reported to the Banff warden office at 403-762-1470.
