An encounter with a grizzly bear has closed an space of an Alberta park till additional discover.
Alberta Parks closed trails in Kent Ridge on Monday because of grizzly exercise within the space.
The closure consists of Kent Ridge Path Entry to Kent Ridge North, Mount Kent and Kent South Peak.
Kevin Van Tighem, former superintendent of Banff Nationwide Park and creator of Bears: With out Worry, suspect the bear encountered most likely got here out of hibernation to get some sunshine.
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“Particularly this time of 12 months, as the times get longer and brighter, and also you get a couple of spells of fine climate, bears will begin to stir a little bit bit, come out, possibly dangle across the mouth of the den and return,” he stated. Van Tighem stated.
He stated he heard of a case of a bear in Waterton Nationwide Park not hibernating for the winter, however as a substitute monitoring down a wolf pack and stealing their lifeless for meals to get by way of the winter.
Van Tighem stated bears are sometimes hungry once they get up from their sleep.
“For a bear, its complete life is about meals, as a result of they must construct that fats (for hibernation). After which once they burn it down, they’ve to exchange it,” he stated.
“They do not get up hungry, however they positively get up motivated.
A map exhibits the world closed in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park after a grizzly bear encounter.
Alberta Parks
“We’ve large bears within the Bow Valley, and often by the top of March they’re on the railroads in search of spilled grain. Moms and cubs extra generally hand around in the den and don’t emerge earlier than mid-April to the top of April.”
Van Tighem stated hotter temperatures because of local weather change are altering bear behaviour.
“With the altering local weather we now have, we’re seeing bears hibernate later and rise earlier. So folks ought to be able to encounter a bear virtually any time of the 12 months. It could actually occur at any time.”
Alberta sees essentially the most grizzly assaults in Canada
In response to knowledge compiled by Sportingpedia, Alberta had essentially the most wildlife assaults from 2010 to 2021 amongst Canadian provinces and territories.
Parks Canada knowledge confirmed that in that interval, 3,726 wildlife assaults had been registered in Alberta. British Columbia got here in second with 293 and Saskatchewan was third with 157.
In Alberta, moose will assault essentially the most, with 2,299 assaults counted in additional than a decade of Parks Canada knowledge. Grizzly bears come second with 431 and black bears third with 243.
Grizzly assaults happen extra incessantly in Alberta than every other province, the compiled knowledge exhibits.
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Parks Canada estimates there are roughly 20,000 grizzly bears remaining in western Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia.
Officers say avoidance is the most effective method to a bear encounter.
Making noise helps make bears conscious of the presence of individuals, however bear bells aren’t suggested to be ample to make that noise.
Vacationers are suggested to look out for contemporary indicators of bears, corresponding to tracks, droppings, digging or overturned rocks.
Canines have to be stored on a leash always, and bigger dimension teams are much less more likely to have a critical bear encounter.
Carrying bear spray can assist defend hikers, when used correctly.
And preserving a tidy campsite, freed from unsecured meals and/or fish elements, can assist not entice bears.
Alberta Parks asks hikers to report all bear sightings instantly by calling 403-591-7755.
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