According to the Teddy Bears Picnic, “if you go out in the woods today, you are in for a big surprise”. This is especially true in the Bow Valley for those who have not given consideration to encountering wildlife!
The Bow Valley is a primary wildlife movement corridor connecting the regional habitat zones of Banff National Park and Kananaskis Country. Bears frequently use this corridor. As the valley continues to develop, increased use by humans could result in increased encounters with bears. Our safety and the sustainability of wildlife in the valley will be dependant on our actions to prevent and/or react to such encounters.
Prevention, the best option, involves awareness, knowledge, and preparation. Be aware of your surroundings when walking the trails. Learn about local bear activity; appropriate actions to prevent and react to an encounter;
as well as bear spray and other deterrents usage and limitations. Be prepared to encounter a bear on any trail at any time.
Proactive measures greatly reduce the chance of an encounter, but they do not eliminate them. If you find yourself near a bear, remain calm. Talk to the bear in a calm voice, and get your deterrents, (bear spray, air horn, and/or bear bangers) ready. Allow time for you and the bear to assess the situation. Back away slowly and avoid eye contact. Retrace you steps to move out of the area. In most situations this response will end the encounter.
If the bear approaches, talk to the bear in a calm but firm tone, ensure your bear spray is ready for use, remove the safety clip. The bear may charge at you and turn away just before contact, these are bluff charges intended to move you away from an area. Pepper spray, an air horn blast or bear bangers, properly used, may deter further charges as you move out of the area.
Bear contacts are very infrequent, but can occur. They are categorized as either predatory or defensive. If the contact is defensive, the bear’s intent is to move you away. To minimize your appearance as a threat, play dead: lie on your stomach, legs spread apart to make it difficult for the bear to roll you over, and protect your back and neck as much as possible. If the contact is predatory, fight back: use sticks, rocks, bare hands, or whatever you have access to. You must convince the bear you are not easy prey. Black bear contacts are usually predatory, and grizzly bear contacts are usually defensive. However, if a grizzly does not leave you soon after contact, assume a predatory intent. All bear contacts at night should be assumed to be predatory. It is very difficult to predict the best strategy to use in the event of a bear attack. That is why it is so important to put thought and energy into avoiding an encounter in the first place.
When you encounter a bear report the sightings. This information will help agencies respond to the bear, and notify the public regarding bear movement. Bears are very mobile; thus, an area with no reported bear activity is not necessarily free of bears. Bears can and will be encountered on any trail at any time.
Help make the Bow Valley a WildSmart Community by sharing this information with friends, family and fellow trail users.
Information advising of recent bear activity, safe trail use practices and encounter options can be obtained thru Bow Valley WildSmart. Please visit our web site www.wildsmart.ca. Bow Valley WildSmart is a proactive conservation strategy that encourages efforts by all to reduce negative human-wildlife interactions. We thank our sponsors and the community for their support; we could not do this without you. See our website for details at www.wildsmart.ca. Residents are encouraged to report any Bow Valley sightings of bear, cougar or aggressive elk to 403-591-7755. For sightings in Banff National Park, call 403-762-1470. For all public safety emergencies call 9-1-1.
