Parks Canada Says More Bears Are Spending Time in Jasper's Townsite

More bears are spending time in and around the Jasper townsite than in years past, a trend Parks Canada says predates the 2024 wildfire and is being fuelled in part by non-native fruit trees that have become a reliable food source.

Jasper National Park is home to an estimated 100 to 120 grizzly bears and about 90 black bears. Records of bear observations and encounters maintained in Parks Canada's national database show more bears from both species have been using the valley bottom near the Jasper townsite in recent years. The trend has also been accompanied by more habituated and food-conditioned bears.

"While the 2024 Jasper Wildfire altered bear habitats and disrupted some movement corridors, the pattern of increasing bear activity in and around the townsite existed before the wildfire," Parks Canada said in a statement to Bow Valley Insider.

The agency said the increase in food-conditioned bears has been linked to accessible food sources in the townsite, particularly non-native fruit trees. Many of those trees have produced larger fruit crops in recent years and become a known food source for some bears.

The growing number of bears around town has resulted in more human-bear conflicts and increased staff time devoted to bear management, according to Jasper National Park's 2025 annual report. Parks Canada's human-wildlife coexistence team responded to more than 400 bear-related incidents in the Jasper townsite in 2023, before the wildfire. Despite strong participation in the fruit tree replacement program, the annual report says some habituated bears continue to treat the townsite as their preferred habitat.

Parks Canada says garbage, compost and recycling are not major contributors because they are managed through wildlife-proof bins and secure waste facilities. Instead, the agency's wildlife records between 2010 and 2024 show fruit trees, shrubs and gardens were documented as attractants far more often than garbage, compost or other human food.

Fruit trees first emerged as a significant wildlife management issue in 2019, according to Parks Canada. Since 2024, the agency and the Municipality of Jasper have removed more than 300 fruit trees through the Fruit Tree Replacement Program. However, more than 400 non-native fruit trees remain in the townsite.

Despite those efforts, bears continue returning to the remaining fruit trees. Once bears learn to feed on fruit in town, they repeatedly return while it remains available, Parks Canada says, making it difficult to keep them out of residential areas. Preventing bears from accessing food remains critical to reducing food conditioning.

Agency data also shows a steady increase in bear activity in high human-use areas throughout Jasper National Park. Common incidents include black bears feeding in townsite fruit trees, visitors approaching bears too closely, and habituated black and grizzly bears in picnic sites, campgrounds and golf courses. Habituation is the most frequently documented factor associated with those incidents, followed by food rewards and food conditioning.

In response, Parks Canada has expanded its monitoring and public education efforts. In 2025, the agency launched a proactive GPS-collaring program, capturing and fitting GPS collars to seven grizzly bears and two black bears that were spending significant time around people. During the busy summer season, Parks Canada also deploys Living with Wildlife interpreters throughout the park to help manage wildlife traffic jams and encourage visitors to observe wildlife safely.

The collars provide real-time information on bear movements while allowing wildlife staff to accurately identify individual animals.

"GPS collar data and remote camera images are also currently being analyzed to help Parks Canada identify risks, guide habitat protection measures, and implement actions that reduce human-wildlife conflict and support coexistence," the agency said.

The collaring program also supports commitments under the Jasper National Park Management Plan, the Multi-Species Action Plan and regional grizzly bear recovery objectives. Those efforts are particularly important because grizzly bears are listed as a species of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act.

GPS collars and ear tags also help wildlife staff identify individual bears and intervene more effectively using aversive conditioning, or hazing, when necessary, Parks Canada says. Techniques can include shouting, clapping, bear bangers, chalk balls and rubber bullets to discourage bears from lingering in busy areas. However, the agency says prevention remains the preferred approach to reducing conflicts.

"Aversive conditioning is resource intensive and not the preferred approach to wildlife coexistence, prevention is key,"

Parks Canada is urging residents and visitors to help prevent bears from becoming food-conditioned by securing attractants, properly managing garbage and other wildlife attractants, staying at least 100 metres away from bears and, where possible, removing fruit trees and landscaping with native plant species.

"Keeping wildlife wild is a shared responsibility, we all have a role to play," the agency said.