Recent bear encounters in Kananaskis Country have prompted members of the Mountain View BearSmart Society to advise people in the area to be vigilant.
“It's that time of year, the berry crops are getting better, bears are out foraging,” said Jane Bicknell, secretary of the society.
“That's their prime purpose in life, is to eat and put on weight to go into the winter den.”
Although there have been few bear sightings in Mountain View County reported to the society this year, Bicknell said there are things people should do to avoid encounters.
When people are outdoors they should carry bear spray with them and know how to use it, travel in groups, keep dogs on leashes and make noise.
People who live on rural properties should store garbage properly and avoid hanging bird feeders and leaving pet food outside.
“Just keep anything that a bear might eat out of your yard and don't hang the bird seed feeders,” she said.
“If he comes through your yard you want him to keep moving, you don't want him to find anything to eat there.”
She advises rural residents with gardens to install electric fencing.
She said if someone does encounter a bear, the best thing to do is move away from it and let it be.
“You don't want to attract its attention; you don't necessarily want to yell or run,” she said.
“If you surprise a bear – and this has happened in cases where people have been biking and they kind of run into a bear because you're quiet on your bike, you're moving very fast, there's no chance for you or the bear to see each other – that's a bad situation and in those cases you need to have your bear spray ready or easily accessible and ready to use.”
Bear spray can be purchased at any sporting goods store including Canadian Tire, although she said it's been flying off the shelves since a recent bear encounter was reported in Canmore.
“It's a good defence mechanism. Things like bear bangers and things that you shoot off, air horns are a good noisemaker, but again they're to scare the bear away and the bear needs to be at some distance from you. Bear spray is for a very close up kind of encounter,” she said.
Bears generally begin going into hibernation in late October or early November, but that depends on temperature and how much snow falls.
They will be spending the next few months scavenging for food to prepare for hibernation.
Bicknell said they are active any time of day, including through the night, but they usually move to shady areas in the heat of the day and move around at dawn and dusk.
For more information, visit www.mountainviewbearsmart.com.
"It's that time of year, the berry crops are getting better, bears are out foraging."Jane BicknellMountain View BearSmart Society
