Alberta grizzly bears looking for love in unexpected places

Lustful Alberta grizzlies are leaving their big footprints in areas where they seldom tread.

Provincial Fish and Wildlife officials are monitoring a number of bears whose travels this spring have taken them into Alberta’s foothills, surprising some residents who’ve never previously encountered grizzlies on their doorsteps.

Anne Woods, who lives on an acreage about 16 kilometres west of Didsbury, said her family was shocked last Thursday to see a large male grizzly wandering around their property.

“The bear … just kind of wandered around the back of our acreage and he just kind of hung out there munching on dandelions,” she said.

“He certainly wasn’t acting aggressive or anything, he was just kind of trying to find some food.

“My husband’s lived there for over 20 years and there’s never been a bear that we’ve seen.”

Over the past few weeks, the province has been monitoring eight grizzly bear sightings on the eastern edges of their normal range

Sightings include a sow and a cub spotted north of Cochrane, another pair south of Cochrane, three bears in the Water Valley area and one particularly brave bruin that wandered east of the QEII Highway between Olds and Innisfail.

John Clarke, a predator response team leader with Alberta Fish and Wildlife, said grizzlies, especially male ones, are regularly struck by wanderlust in the late spring as they tend to venture far afield on the hunt for female companionship.

“The males all cover big areas because all they think about is breed, breed, breed,” he said.

“Right now we’re getting a lot of calls from people, but it’s not necessarily unusual for them to be covering a lot of ground.”

Clarke noted it is rare for a bruin to actually cross the province’s primary north-south highway, but that could be attributed to adolescent grizzlies left to fend for themselves by their mother.

“They’re teenagers and they get into trouble and they don’t know what to do,” Clarke said, noting in some cases the sightings could be the same bears who’ve put on a lot of kilometres in their pursuit of love.

“It could just be four bears and people might not ever see them again.”

The veteran Fish and Wildlife officer noted bear country doesn’t always have borders, so it’s wise for any rural landowners to ensure their properties are not attractive to wandering grizzlies.

That means granaries need to be secured, garbage contained and livestock kept in safe environments.

If you spot a grizzly bear, call the province’s 24-hour Report a Poacher line at 1-800-642-3800.