Closures, bear warnings greet visitors to Kananaskis Country
Multiple sightings of grizzlies keep both visitors and park staff on high alert
Sections of Kananaskis Country have been closed after multiple grizzly bear sightings, with Alberta Parks officials warning outdoors enthusiasts to be wary of surprise encounters anywhere in the mountain park.
With the long, cold and snowy winter finally coming to an end, K-Country’s 65-plus bears may be especially mobile as they finally venture out and start foraging for early signs of food and vegetation.
“We may be seeing a higher number moving around than we normally would as their food resources are somewhat limited, more limited than usual because of the late spring,” said John Paczkowski, park ecologist with Alberta Environment and Parks Kananaskis Region.
“Over the winter, we all tend to go into a lull and forget about them. But it’s spring now and they ’re out of their dens, looking for a meal.”
Alberta Environment and Parks has issued bear warnings for much of the Kananaskis region, including the Kananaskis Golf Course, which is scheduled to open Thursday.
Bear alerts remain for all areas, including staff housing, parking lots, the clubhouse, other buildings and the course maintenance compound.
Near the golf course, the popular Bill Milne Bike path between Mount Kidd RV Park and the Kananaskis River Bridge on Mount Allan Drive will remain closed until further notice, after reports of multiple grizzly bears frequenting that area.
Conservation staff cannot say whether the closures will continue into the long weekend, stressing the bear activity is too unpredictable at this point.
“It’s all based on where they’re travelling, and multiple bears have been spotted and we have posted warnings,” said Arian Spiteri, district conservation officer for KCountry Alberta Parks.
Golfers, hikers, cyclists and other outdoors enthusiasts are being asked to do everything possible to avoid surprise bear encounters, including making noise, travelling in groups, carrying bear spray and always being aware of their surroundings.
If you do come face to face with a bear, Alberta Parks advise that you prepare your spray and back away slowly and calmly, trying not to look directly at the bear. Bear spray should be used on any bear that is within a car length of you.
Paczkowski said people need to be on extra high alert as female grizzlies start leaving their dens with their cubs and can be especially aggressive if they are surprised.
“People need to get their heads in the game from a safety perspective. A surprise encounter with a female that has cubs nearby could end very drastically.”
Paczkowski added that even as cubs grow older, high levels of awareness need to continue as spring turns to summer, bears begin mating and male bears are particularly on edge as they compete for females.
“Males in mating season, they can kind of lose their minds. They’re focused only on that.”
Higher visitation numbers in midsummer can also keep bears on edge, he added.
Of the 65 bears in K-Country, about half tend to roam into the valley where most people are, and about 10 to 12 remain as full-time residents, most of them females, Paczkowski said.
Stephen Dodwell, general manager for the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, said there are more bears near the lodge this year than there were last year, but hotel staff are proactive in teaching residents bear safety.
“I think with the long winter we’ve had, they’re all waking up together.”
Dodwell added the closure of the Bill Milne bike path won’t have an effect on activity levels, saying there are plenty of other trails.
Darren Robinson, general manager of the Kananaskis Country Golf Course, said even though there are bears around, it’s business as usual for this time of year in the park.
“We have one of the healthiest grizzly bear populations of anywhere in the world in our backyard here in Kananaskis. So the fact that there’s a couple of grizzlies around the other day, it’s nothing new, nothing unusual, nothing out of the ordinary,” said Robinson.
Operations at the golf course, which will reopen Thursday after five years of being closed due to damage from the 2013 southern Alberta flood, are unaffected by the bears, he said.