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BEAR ACTIVITY UPDATE (Oct.9, 2025)
(Banff National Park East Gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park)
Bears continue to be seen throughout the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country and with the upcoming long weekend, the trails and day use areas will likely be very busy with visitors. It’s important that everyone remains vigilant and mentally prepared for possible encounters with bears and other wildlife, all of which are still active out on the landscape.
Bear activity picked up this past week in Canmore as there have been regular reports of a black bear in the Silvertip area, and two more bear warnings were put in place in K-Country due to bears bluff charging hikers.
Bear Warning - Sparrowhawk Day Use Area due to a bear bluff charging a hiker.
Bear Warning - Mount Lipsett and Mist Mountain Area due to a bear bluff charging a hiker.
If there are bears feeding along trails, give them their space (at least 100m), back away, leave the area, don't try and sneak past them and don’t expect bears to move off a food source for you. Bears can be very protective of their food and may exert their dominance if you get too close. Trail users need to be prepared by carrying bear spray but also need to respect the bears and give them space to move around and feed undisturbed.
Bears need a healthy fat layer before they go into their deep sleep; it helps them to stay warm and provides calories to survive the winter. With that in mind, bears will continue to actively search for food in the coming weeks to pack on those extra few pounds before heading into their dens for the winter. Those calories should not be coming from people so it is vital that all wildlife attractants (i.e. food, garbage, fruit trees, bird feeders, pet food, pumpkins etc.) are either removed or properly secured at home and on the trails.
Remove your fruit trees or their fruit, or you may face steep fines and be responsible for killing a bear! To find out more about the fines associated with allowing wildlife attractants such as fruit to accumulate on trees and on the ground, view and download the Community Standards Bylaw here. Many hands make light work, so if you have family or friends visiting this Thanksgiving weekend, have them help pick the fruit from your yard!
Female grizzly bear with cubs.
Hunters need to be cautious as, due to the nature of their activity, they are intentionally being quiet on the landscape. They should always be bear aware and carry bear spray with them while out hunting! Bear spray can save the life of the hunter AND the bear(s). It is a shame and waste when bears, especially reproductive-aged female grizzly bears, get shot by hunters, even in self-defence, as grizzly bears are a threatened species in Alberta. Here are some recent relevant articles:
Calgary Zoo takes in two grizzly bear cubs after mother shot in self-defence.
Elk hunter who was mauled by grizzly bear is in stable condition, say B.C. officials.
VIEW CURRENT WARNINGS AND CLOSURES
Please report any sightings of a bear, cougar, wolf or any aggressive wildlife in the Bow Valley or K-Country to Kananaskis Dispatch at 403-591-7755. In Banff, call Dispatch at 403.762.1470. They prefer to get the reports first hand from the people who see the wildlife!
Elk continue to be seen and heard bugling along trails and in wide open fields such as school yards and playing fields around town, which means you may have to choose an alternate route while out for a walk/run/ride. Male elk are particularly protective of any female elk they are with, and there continue to be reports of large rutting bull elk showing aggression towards people getting too close trying to take pictures or trying to sneak past them on the trails. The best way to keep them at ease is to give plenty of space to ALL ELK by staying at least 30m away - which is three school bus lengths - never try to sneak past them and never get between a male elk and the female elk.
Remember: keep pets on a leash, carry bear spray in an easily accessible location, and if an elk charges, position a large object (e.g. car, large tree) between you and the elk or consider using your bear spray. Never approach elk up close as they are wild animals that can react unpredictably!
SOME THINGS TO ‘BEAR’ IN MIND
For bears, fall is “last chance to eat a lot” season as they continue to roam about searching for every bit of remaining food, natural and otherwise. Days are getting shorter and nights are getting longer as the countdown to denning up continues. The combination of shorter days, longer nights and foraging bears also makes fall a prime time for people and bears to encounter each other out on the trails or on the roads. If your activities take you into the outdoors, click here for some fall tips for avoiding bear encounters! Are you prepared to encounter a bear on the trail? The following video is a great example of how to properly handle an encounter with a bear. It occurred close to Canmore on EEOR (East End Of Rundle) back in 2018.
Ever wonder what bears do in October? Learn all about it from our friends at BearWise south of the border. “October at a Glance: Hyperphagia is in full-swing. Bears may be awake and searching for food up to 20 hours a day. Many bears also look for den sites. Some pregnant females may den up by the end of the month. As days shorten, vehicle collisions rise.” Click here to read the full article about What bears do in October.
SLOW DOWN: Bears and other wildlife are often seen feeding and travelling on or near the road so motorists need to slow down when passing wildlife roadside, obey speed limits and be extra alert (especially at dawn and dusk) as the days are getting shorter and the number of darkness hours are increasing. Remember to obey speed limits and slow down when passing wildlife, but don’t stop, and always stay in your vehicle! Give bears at least 100m of space at all times!
Read related article: Grizzly bear killed on highway in Banff National Park.
Larch Viewing: Click here to read what the Friends of Kananaskis Country recommends! You can also click here for an extensive list of trails, none of which are at the Highwood Pass, where you can see Lyall’s Larches. All of these trails will be less busy than the Highwood Pass!
Female grizzly bear with her cubs down near Elbow Pass Day Use Area in K-Country on Sep.22, 2024.
WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WORDS OF WISDOM
Living and recreating safely in bear country means understanding many things, from signs that bears are around, to what to do in a bear encounter. As we wander in the wilderness (or even in town sites) we are travelling in a bear’s home: their living areas, dining areas, and even their bathrooms. Recognizing the food sources that bears are currently eating can help raise your awareness of the possibility that bears are around where you are at any given moment. Every month we’re going to look at what bears are eating right now, and for the next few weeks, and in this edition of What are the Bears eating today? by Derek Ryder, Volunteer Wildlife Ambassador & IGA Interpretive Guide, it is Ground Squirrels.
It’s the time of year when the diets of Grizzly and Black bears have diverged. Grizzlies started moving out of the valleys and into the alpine weeks ago. Black bears find slightly higher elevations but den much lower than their grizzly counterparts. By this time next month, half of the grizzlies and virtually all of the black bears will be in dens (and the ski season will have started, even though this week doesn’t feel like it).
Black bears’ thoughts in October turn to grasses and insects. In October 2020, I was doing a Wildlife Ambassador rove in Riverside Park in downtown Canmore and found a great big pile of bear scat. It was nothing but the lush green grass growing in the park. Bears are smart and always are eating the best thing available. One of our wildlife coexistence challenges in the Canmore area is that we plant and lovingly tend to good ‘ole grass in our parks, which is demonstrably a wildlife attractant. Riverside had bear poop, deer poop and elk poop in it – and a herd of elk napping in the trees nearby on a busy Sunday. And we all know how many bears have been removed from town because of fruit trees and other attractants. Grizzlies, on the other hand, take advantage of their high alpine denning areas to target the perfect bedtime snack: ground squirrels and marmots…Click here to read Derek’s full article about Ground Squirrels!
Click on this image of Squirrels to read the full article!
WEEKLY WILDLIFE AMBASSADOR WHEREABOUTS
In case you have not seen them yet, our amazing Volunteer Wildlife Ambassadors have been heading out onto trails and trailheads! You can find them talking to people about responsible trail use and staying safe while recreating in bear country. Note: their locations may change at the last minute. October 11 - Highwood Pass Area
FOOD FOR THOUGHT?
Bears are so focused on food this time of year that they are more likely to take risks, like coming into town and backyards to feed in fruit trees. Letting a bear access these higher calorie items such as crabapples and mountain ash won't do it any favours. Once they try these food sources they can learn that towns provide easy meals, meaning they're more likely to stick around and come back. This can become a public safety issue as bears can get protective of food sources, leading to conflicts between bears and humans, with bears normally paying the price by getting relocated or killed. Article: Black bear tranquilized after climbing tree in SW Calgary Oakridge community.
Need help removing the fruit? WildSmart has pruning shears, extendable pole saw pruners and fruit pickers that can be borrowed (free of charge) to assist Bow Valley residents in removing that hard to reach fruit. Please send an email to resource@biosphereinstitute.org to make arrangements to borrow the fruit removal equipment.
Apply for the Town of Canmore’s Fruit Tree Removal and Replacement Incentive: Picking fruit every year is a lot of work so the recommended long-term solution is to remove your fruit tree! There is still plenty of money remaining in the budget this year for the Town of Canmore’s Fruit Tree Removal and Replacement Incentive Program so we urge you to consider removing and replacing your fruit tree now while the funds are available! These programs are first-come first-served while funds are available. Click here for more details!
Ever wonder how many calories are in the ‘unnatural’ foods provided by people vs. the ‘natural’ foods provided by nature? It’s no wonder bears are willing to take the risk to access these higher calorie ‘unnatural’ foods.
Click on this image from the Living With Bears Handbook to find out more about calorie counts (and how they're broken down). Copyright 2015 Linda Masterson.
Halloween is around the corner and with that, pumpkins are starting to make an appearance. Please be proactive and remember to keep pumpkins inside of windows and NOT outside on your doorstep. Pumpkins are a wildlife attractant to all sorts of animals, not just bears. You might think that your pumpkin is safe on a balcony, far off the ground, but bears are very good climbers. Check out this video of an ingenious bear climbing up onto a balcony.
WILDLIFE IN THE NEWS
Canmore council candidates discuss environment at Biosphere Institute forum.
Woman attacked by mother bear while walking dog on Squamish, B.C., trail.
Bear in Calgary, bobcat in Airdrie: officials share wildlife safety tips.
Bear attacks 2 in Japan grocery store, ransacks sushi section.
Bear injures Spanish tourist in central Japan's Shirakawa Village.
Rising bear attacks prompt new shooting rules in Japan, but hunters dwindle.
Black bear who killed camper in Arkansas shot dead by officials.
Arkansas Game and Fish officials discuss recent deadly bear attacks in state.
Bear activity prompts safety warning for West Kelowna residents.
AND NOW SOME PAWS-ITIVE NEWS
Our amazing three Keep Wildlife Alive Ambassadors have been busy going door-to-door in the Cougar Creek West Area in Canmore, and were also at the Canmore Market last week, educating residents about the importance of removing wildlife attractants such as fruit trees (or at a minimum removing the fruit before it is ripe) and the Town of Canmore’s Fruit Tree Removal and Replacement Incentive Programs. They were also out in Exshaw last night going door-to-door, and they plan to go back there again next week.
We also wanted to mention the pawsitive news that several Canmore businesses have done their part by removing fruit trees from their properties. For example, Chateau Canmore removed 15 trees, six trees were removed from the area surrounding The Canmore Brewing Company and Timbertown, and Save-On-Foods removed at least five trees. Read more in this article: Canmore residents and businesses chop down 125 fruit trees this year to protect bears. Many thanks to these residents and businesses for their efforts and we encourage others to be proactive and follow suit to help keep bears and people safe in the Bow Valley!
Our Keep Wildlife Alive Ambassadors in action at the Canmore Market on Oct.2, 2025.
CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
Join the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley and help lead community action on climate change and sustainability! We’re hiring a temporary Shift: Climate Transitions Program Coordinator (Maternity Leave) to deliver engaging education programs, build partnerships, and support local emissions reduction initiatives—from energy-efficient buildings and electric vehicles to circular economy projects. If you are interested in applying for this opportunity please email a resume and cover letter to grace@biosphereinstitute.org by October 24, 2025. Proposed start date: Dec.1, 2025. Click here to learn more and apply!
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 2-19 - EV’s are for Everyone Cross-Canada Tour in Canmore!
The 2025 EV’s are for Everyone Cross-Canada Tour is coming to Canmore from Oct.2-19! During the event you can connect with Plug’n Drive EV ambassadors, get your questions answered, and experience the latest in electric vehicle technology. Test drives will be available in a lineup of EVs from leading manufacturers! Click below to book your test drive appointment—drop-ins are welcome, but priority will be given to scheduled visitors.
Canmore MEET - Click Here to Book your Canmore Test Drive!
This event will take place in Canmore from Oct.2-19, 2025, every Thursday to Sunday from 10am-5pm at the Canmore Recreation Centre.
October 26 - Banff Share and Repair Fair
Join the Town of Banff and the Biosphere Institute for a fun, FREE community event celebrating the circular economy. Explore on-site repairs, hands-on workshops, live music, and community connection - plus free Frankie D’s donuts! Sunday, Oct.26 | 10am-2pm | Fenlands Rec. Centre.
Special Workshop Highlight: Join Iethka (Stoney) artists Kyle Kaquitts and Jarron Poucette for a hands-on session where you’ll bead and assemble your own buckskin medicine bag necklace. The workshop begins with a smudge ceremony and stories about honouring all parts of the animal.
From Patagonia to Community Cruisers, discover an array of local businesses and organizations driving reuse, repair, upcycling, and sharing across the Bow Valley.
Click here to RSVP for free and be entered to win prizes and get first access to workshop sign-up!
Iethka (Stoney) artists Kyle Kaquitts and Jarron Poucette
October 30 - Quirky Climate Fashion Show
Join the Mountain Grannies and the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley for a bright, bold, and unexpectedly funny evening where fashion meets climate action. Original, story-filled garments spark conversation, inspire reflection, and bring a touch of humour and colour to the climate crisis (Garments not for sale). Thursday, Oct 30, 2025 | 7 PM | Creekside Hall
Click here to get your tickets: $40 – includes a glass of wine + cheese & crackers
All proceeds support the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Biosphere Institute!
November 21 - Do-Si-Do for the Biosphere Institute: Square Dance Fundraiser
Please join us for some boot stompin' fun at our third annual Square Dance Community Fundraiser! The most fun you can have with your boots on - Friday November 21, 2025.
Doors open: 6:30 PM at the Cornerstone Theatre | Dance begins at 7:30 PM
General Admission: $45+fees | Early bird tickets: $35+fees
We will provide you with an incredible live band, light snacks, prizes, silent auction, and so much laughing your belly will hurt the next day! No prior experience necessary – All are welcome! Please let us know if you have any accessibility concerns that we should know about. If affordability is a barrier, please reach out to resource@biosphereinstitute.org. Fire in the hole!
Please remember BEARS CAN BE ENCOUNTERED ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!
Report any sightings of a bear, cougar, wolf or any aggressive wildlife in Kananaskis Country or the Bow Valley to Kananaskis Dispatch at 403.591.7755