Summer’s official kickoff, the Victoria Day (May) long weekend, signals the arrival of human-grizzly encounter season. While the bears have been out and about since mid-April it’s not until the influx of people enjoying the warmer weather and venturing ‘onto the landscape’ does the seeming inevitable yet mostly preventable bear-human encounter(s) occur.

Two thousand and eight was not a good year for Alberta’s grizzlies. Despite a ban on hunting human activity was directly involved in the deaths of 19 bears, up considerably from years previous – full article from the CBC website – link here.

So far 2009 is off to a shaky start with Banff National Park losing a massive grizzly in a train accident – link to the Rocky Mountain Outlook article here

With so much unpleasant news regarding grizzly conservation it’s easy to get caught up in the negativity, the politics, and the blame game losing sight of what we can do as individuals to ensure the great bear sticks around. The success or failure of grizzly recovery is largely dependent on the decisions and actions you and I make while visiting bear country. At some point in time someone is the tipping point between a bear normally going about it’s business versus a bear-at-risk due to habituation. Given the stakes I don’t want to be that someone. I’ve complied a list of Five simple and easy Ways to Save a Grizzly this Summer citing expert opinion regarding the conservation of our wildlife.

Resist the Temptation to Stop and Watch a Roadside Bear

With respect to the bear’s survival, the consequences of frequent ‘bear jams’ are bears that become used to or habituated to people through this constant, repeated exposure. This is a concern because it results in a bear becoming bolder and bolder around people and human developments such as campgrounds and townsites. The altered behaviour puts these bears at greater risk of dying a human-caused death: they are run over on our highways, or railway, or become public safety risks and are destroyed. The end result is that bears are lost from the ecosystem. This human-caused mortality threatens park and regional bear populations, especially grizzly populations as they have a very low reproductive rate; the regional population cannot easily offset an increased rate of death.

Parks Canada – Bear Management in the Rocky Mountain National Parks

Keep a Clean Camp Site / Never Feed the Wildlife

When people leave their food out, bears and other species can lose their fear of humans. Once an animal gets used to human food, it becomes a risk to public safety, and may be destroyed. By keeping a “bare” campsite, you are playing an important part in preventing the creation of “problem” animals.

Parks Canada – Bare Campsite pamphlet (PDF) – link here

Make Lots of Noise While on the Trail

Bears will usually move out of the way if they hear people approaching, so make noise. Most bells are not enough. Calling out and clapping hands loudly at regular intervals are better ways to make your presence known. Hiking quietly endangers you, the bear, and other hikers. A bear constantly surprised by quiet hikers may become habituated to close human contact and less likely to avoid people. This sets up a dangerous situation for both visitors and bears.

Glacier National Park – Bears (U.S. National Park Service)

Obey the Speed Limit

Wildlife vehicle collisions are a serious safety risk for animals. In most cases, an animal that has been hit by a vehicle dies immediately or shortly after a collision. Clearly, these deaths affect the immediate survival of many individual animals. However, they also represent a serious conservation issue. For some species, the long-term survival of a local or regional population may be threatened, especially in combination with other factors such as habitat loss due to agriculture and urbanization.

Wildlife Vehicle Collision Reduction Reduction Study: August 2007 U.S. Dept. of Transportation – link here

Carry Bear Spray with You at All Times in Bear Country & Know How to Use it

Our research shows that bear deterrent spray is an effective tool for defusing bear–human conflict in a nonlethal manner. In Alaska, bear spray was highly effective in dealing with all 3 species of North American bears, although more data on polar bear responses is needed. Persons working and recreating in bear habitat should feel confident that they are safe if carrying bear spray. Although bear spray was 92% effective by our definition of success, it is important to note that 98% of persons carrying it were uninjured after a close encounter with bears. In portions of North America where bears are in decline managers may reduce the number of bears killed in defense of life by arming employees with bear deterrent sprays in addition to firearms. No bear spray has ever been reported to kill a bear. It is our belief that widespread use of bear spray will promote human safety and bear conservation.

Management and Conservation Note Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska Smith, Herrero, Debruyn, & Wilder -  link to article here

One Response to “Five Ways to Save a Grizzly this Summer”

1. the explorer’s lens » Blog Archive Says:
   May 30th, 2009 at 10:14 pm

   [...] Five Ways to Save a Grizzly this Summer [...]

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.