Bears in Banff are getting a rare chance to feast on a sushi buffet following widespread June flooding.
A closure is in effect for Banff’s Cascade River drainage downstream from Lake Minnewanka reservoir to the Bow River, where grizzly and black bears are making good use of protein from dead and rotting fish.
Officials say the closure is in place as a precautionary measure to protect people, as well as to give the bears the space they need to take advantage of this rare feeding opportunity in Banff.
“There’s a lot of bear activity and it seems to be related to the abundance of dead and decaying fish,” said David Gummer, a wildlife biologist for Banff National Park.
“With such attractive smelly food there for bears, there’s a considerable risk that people might startle a bear and a bear may act defensively while in the presence of food attractants.”
The closure, which went into effect July 28, includes both sides of the riverbed of the Cascade River, as well as Lower Bankhead, Cascade Pits and Cascade Ponds.
With water in the Cascade River returning to a trickle as TransAlta stops using the spillway at Lake Minnewanka, there are displaced fish in side channels and pools.
Parks Canada mounted a massive fish salvage operation last week, saving hundreds of fish by putting them safely in the Bow River, the main channel of the Cascade, or Lake Minnewanka.
But at the height of the floods as TransAlta released water from the spillway for the first time in 70 years, fish were dispersed throughout the forest in the area.
“There appears to be a fair amount of fish strewn out in forest areas… even up in the bushes and trees that we will see dead fish,” said Gummer.
“There are also large numbers of fish that were becoming concentrated in remaining pools and channels, and those were the ones we were targeting for the salvage operation.”
Bear 64 and her three two-year-old cubs have been seen in the area, though no one has actually witnessed the four bruins feeding on the dead and rotting fish.
Parks Canada knows a female grizzly fitted with a GPS collar, known as 135, actually made a beeline for the area, based on GPS locations. She had three yearling offspring last year when she was caught, but it’s not known if all three are in tow this year.
Black bear 1201 has also been there making the most of the dead fish buffet.
“There’s been a number of reports of grizzly bears and black bears in the area,” said Gummer.
At this time of year, bears in this area typically start to exploit berry crops where they can.
“In this area, grizzly bears and black bears, neither of them have a lot of opportunity to take advantage of fish as food resources,” said Gummer.
“Right now, they’re able to stumble onto fish as a result of the flooding and get good protein and fats.”
Gummer said Parks Canada will lift the closure as soon as it is safe.
“We’re certainly aware lots of people want to get out and enjoy the park, but we want to keep those areas closed until we see bear activity go down and the status of decaying fish becomes less of a concern,” he said.
“We will evaluate on a daily basis the level of bear activity and status of fish and hopefully open up some areas soon if it’s safe.”
Anyone caught violating the closure along the Cascade River will be charged under Canada’s national park regulations and could face a maximum fine of $25,000.
