Tourists are repeatedly warned about getting too close to wildlife they come across in the mountains, but Parks Canada officials say despite the advisories, it’s still happening.
One incident near Lake Louise involved a grizzly bear, classified as Bear 142, feeding near the road just inside one of the fence barriers.
Dozens of excited visitors went over to take a look, some standing just steps from the large bear.
Kevin Van Tighem, a former superintendent at Banff National Park, says these gatherings of tourists, called ‘bearjams’, are filled with ‘stupid and irresponsible behaviour’.
At one point during the incident, a child reached through the wires towards the bear, an excessively dangerous thing to do.
“Even though you might feel safe because there is a fence there or something, it doesn’t change the fact that somebody else might get hurt because of this situation,” Van Tighem said.
What the visitors don’t know is that the bear could easily get over the fence if it wanted to, and the bear is stressed and building contact with humans which may later cost the animal her life.
“The more you increase stressful interactions and stressful situations between bears and humans, there is more risk of an attack happening, if not at that event, then subsequently.”
Bear 142 has had her fair share of contact with humans, but Van Tighem said it is especially concerning for her because she is at her prime breeding age.
“This six-year-old female knows how to live around people,” Van Tighem said. “I’ve met her personally in the backcountry of Banff. She’s coming into her prime productive years – she’s a very important bear – it would be terrible to lose this bear because of people’s behaviour.”
Ideally, Parks Canada officials would like people to slow down but not stop when they spot bears along the road.
If you do stop, you should stay in your car, keep a respectful distance and make it brief.
