Tag: Banff

Grizzly bears are ‘awake and active’ in Banff National Park

A research animal identified as Bear 122 or “The Boss” is believed to have been the first grizzly bear spotted out of hibernation.

The first grizzly bear sighting of 2024 has been logged in Canada’s Banff National Park, according to social media reports.

The park on Thursday confirmed that “bears are awake and active” in the country’s oldest and most popular national park, located in Alberta’s  Rockies.

“To ensure the safety of wildlife and the public during this sensitive time of increased activity, area closures may be implemented as needed,” the park stated via Facebook.

Chateau Mountain Sports identified the grizzly bear involved in the first sighting as Bear 122, a.k.a. “The Boss.”

“The Boss is awake! Act busy,” the rental and retail company advised ts Instagram followers.

The park advised tourists to visit its bear safety page before visiting. The page contains advice on how to avoid encounters and how to react during every type of encounter.

A common theme: Stay calm and never run because running is likely to trigger an attack response.

Male grizzly bears are first to emerge from hibernation. They’re typically followed weeks later by female bears with cubs.

–Grizzly bear image courtesy of Banff National Park

‘Intense’ moments as grizzly bears stalk hikers in Banff

Hikers in Canada’s Banff National Park on Tuesday were stalked by grizzly bears for nearly 20 minutes in what the guide described as an “intense” experience.

Hikers in Canada’s Banff National Park on Tuesday were stalked by grizzly bears for several minutes in what the guide described as an “intense” experience.

The accompanying footage, provided to CBC News by Jess Rogers, shows what appears to be a momma grizzly with a large cub emerge onto the trail behind the hikers.

Phoebe Nicholson, the tour guide, explained in the footage: “Internally I was quite nervous, but I also felt prepared.”

As the bears followed closely behind, Nicholson urged the hikers to keep walking but remain calm as they attempted to reach Consolation Lake.

The bears followed the hikers for 15 to 20 minutes at a distance of 10 to 20 meters, Nicholson said.

Although the smaller bear ran toward the hikers a couple of times, in possible bluff-charging behavior, the bears did not attack.

Said Nicholson: “We got to Consolation Lake and we kind of just watched in awe, getting our breath back from what had just happened, which was pretty intense.”

Grizzly bears typically steer clear of groups of people on a trail, so this was unusual behavior.

Nicholson described the encounter as a learning experience, and stressed the importance of keeping bear spray ready while hiking in bear country.