Dear Editor, I’m an ex-Jasperite/Hintonite. I grew up in the area in the 70s and 80s, and of course Jasper has a special place in my heart. Two years ago I moved back to Alberta to be closer to the grandkids and have settled in Cochrane. I am a longtime photographer, and whenever I can, I pay a visi...

A mother black bear and her cub have been captured and removed from the Jasper townsite by wildlife officials. It’s a second-to-last-ditch effort to give these bears a chance at living their life in a more natural environment, said JNP’s resource conservation manager, Dave Argument. The last resort ...

A park visitor has been fined $1,500 for enticing and disturbing wildlife in Jasper National Park. On June 15, Parks Canada dispatchers received a report of an individual throwing objects at a sow grizzly bear and her two cubs. The report stated the male was outside of his vehicle on the Maligne Lak...

Recently I’ve been watching Alone , a reality TV show where 10 people have to survive in the wilderness, by themselves, with no food or water and minimal gear. The last person standing is the winner. To give himself the best chance of winning, one of the participants (a Canadian) adopted an unusual ...

The grizzly bear family that startled picnickers at a popular day-use area 11 days ago have been relocated away from the Jasper townsite. On July 24, a sow grizzly and her two cubs got way too close for comfort to a family of visitors who had just laid out their lunch at Lake Annette. The bears acce...

Parks Canada is once again asking Jasperites to help remove bear attractants from the townsite. “Residents should take steps now to remove fruit and any other potential attractants from their properties,” a statement from Jasper National Park wildlife officials reads.  Already this summer, several i...

Parks Canada is reminding the picnicking public to remain vigilant in bear country. On Monday, July 24, a family of grizzly bears approached a family of visitors who had just laid out their lunch on a picnic table at Lake Annette. When the bears got close, the people bolted, leaving their food and e...

Lately I’ve been watching young Robins Grackles and Blackbirds harass their parents for food, and their constant squawking reminded me of the various parenting strategies, phenomenons and conflicts that animals find themselves in as they raise their offspring. Blinded by the plight It was a hot, sum...

A man who shot a black bear while hiking with a firearm in Jasper National Park has been fined $7,500. On August 6, 2022, Serge Painchaud of Edmonton was hiking with two friends on the Overlander Trail, a popular hiking trail along the Athabasca River, east of the Jasper townsite. The group was hiki...

Bears on the golf course, bears by the creek, bears in the campgrounds. Mid May to mid-June is the time of year when bear sightings in human use areas are common. And although this spring is less hectic than 2022, when two sub-adult grizzlies were using the townsite to avoid larger boars, make no mi...

“Hey Mark, check out these little loons!” Garth, a Parks Canada resource conservation staffer, had just walked into my office. On his camera were photos of a couple of small, black, fuzzy loon babies. Rescuing injured, lost or otherwise needy birds was not all that unusual for Parks staff, but the l...

Grazing happily on the greened-up lawn at a local cabin resort last week, a five-year old grizzly bear was blissfully unaware—or at least unfazed—by the presence of interested onlookers, including photographer Simone Heinrich , who had her telephoto lens trained on the young adult bruin.  Heinrich w...

As grizzly bears are peeking, visitors' excitement for a wildlife encounter is peaking. But so are wildlife warnings in Jasper National Park.  It's spring. Grizzly bears and black bears are out of hibernation and gorging themselves on Jasper National Park greenery. Because that nutritious vegetation...

All over Jasper National Park, bears are waking up…and they’re hungry. Wildlife photographer Simone Heinrich spotted this black bear—her first such sighting of the season—late in the evening, just as the sun was setting. It was snacking on the sticky buds of low hanging balsam branches and not reall...

“Hold on!” the pilot yelled. We had been surveying arctic caribou from a Dehavilland Beaver (often referred to as the best bush plane ever built). This particular aircraft’s “tundra tires” allowed its pilot to land just about anywhere, but our makeshift landing strip would be a real test. The ridget...

Photos by Patrick Barker for The Jasper Local An elk that fell through a partly frozen lake in Jasper National Park was given a new lease on life by Parks Canada staff. An elk fell through spring ice on Lac Beauvert April 17. // Patrick Barker On April 17 at approximately 5 p.m., a bull elk fell thr...

For ruffed grouse, winter in the Rockies can be a grind This ruffed grouse is getting some good lift off to get to those tasty rose hips. But wait, don’t they have wings for that? They do, but…a ruffed grouse’s wing feathers are designed to give them quick and powerful bursts of flight—maybe you’ve ...

“Mark, are you absolutely sure you need more photos of those grey birds sitting on grey rocks?” My wife was in the kitchen of our Jasper condo, clutching a steaming cup of coffee while watching me prep my gear for yet another day of photographing American Dippers. Advertisement inquires: andrea@rave...

It was a chilly evening in the winter of 2008. I was crossing the railroad tracks on the way home from work when I suddenly found myself in the middle of a flock of perhaps 2,000 birds. I had inadvertently startled a huge flock of birds that had recently irrupted! Grey-crowned Rosy Finches darken th...

Simone Heinrich remembers the first time she saw river otters in Jasper National Park. “I was just amazed at how playful they are. They are so fun to watch, sliding around on their bellies, chasing each other around and moving in and out of the water with such ease,” the wildlife photographer said. ...