As the August Long Weekend takes shape and Parks Canada reminds visitors and residents to be bear-aware, two grizzlies that were hanging out in downtown Jasper are keeping their distance far in the backcountry

Two habituated bears, translocated by helicopter into the Jasper National Park backcountry earlier in the summer, are apparently keeping their distance from humans.

A pair of sibling grizzlies which had been removed from the Jasper townsite after displaying increasingly-bold, risky behaviour patterns, are staying deep in the JNP/Alberta backcountry, according to park officials.

“As of July 25, the male subadult grizzly was in the Southesk area while the female was just outside of the national park, near the Bighorn River, getting close to Nordegg,” said Jeff Andrews, a Parks Canada resource conservation officer. The bears are fitted with GPS collars.

Closer to the Jasper townsite, wildlife officials such as Andrews are letting August long weekend visitors know that although most JNP grizzlies have moved into the alpine, black bears are still very much in the valley bottom. Trail users should be mindful that it’s easy to surprise a bear focused on feeding, Andrews said.

“Sightlines aren’t good, bears are going to be stuffed into bushes, focusing on what there is for buffalo berries.” 

While this year’s berry crop isn’t exactly a bumper one, bears are still seeking out their summer staple. The berry bushes tend to border high-use areas such as trails, roads and campgrounds, so to mitigate the risk of a surprise encounter, trail users should make noise while on trails, travel in tight groups, always supervise children, carry bear spray, and avoid wearing ear buds. When disposing of garbage, ensure it goes into a bear-proof bin.

“If a bin is full at a high use area, don’t just leave your garbage,” Andrews said. 

Garbage is an unnatural attractant to bears looking to put on their winter weight, and so are the hundreds of ornamental fruit and berry trees which many local homeowners in Jasper hold dear. Fruit is just now starting to come in on approximately 350 trees around the Jasper townsite, Andrews said. If it’s not harvested, that fruit, combined with the few hundred mountain ash and choke cherry trees in Jasper, will increase the risk of human-wildlife conflict issues.

“We have bears that have been in town for a few years now, we’re hoping we can manage those trees,” Andrews said.

Black bears in people’s yards are potentially problematic, but the larger worry is the trend of grizzlies displaying similar behaviour patterns. In recent years, wildlife specialists have reported grizzlies following on the heels of fruit tree-focused black bears, making more forays into the townsite to raid residents’ yards. The trend is worrisome, Andrews said.

“They’re getting habituated,” he said. “They’re getting used to being in town, they’re getting used to using the town as a corridor at night.”

Parks Canada is once again extending its offer to remove, at no cost, Jasper homeowners’ ornamental, non-native trees which bear fruit. Call 780 852 6155 to report a wildlife incident or to ask about the agency’s tree-removal program. 

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com