Grizzlies Tear Into Occupied Tent, Triggering Camping Ban In Kananaskis

A family of grizzly bears investigated and ripped a hole in an occupied tent at a Kananaskis campground this week, one in a string of bear encounters that pushed Alberta Parks to post a series of warnings and a closure across two provincial parks and to bar tent camping at two of the area's busiest campgrounds.

The encounters, concentrated on June 24 and June 25, span Peter Lougheed and Spray Valley provincial parks, both within the Kananaskis Country recreation area. In each case officials said bears had come into close contact with people by approaching a hiker, frequenting a campground, and in the most serious instance tearing into a tent while someone was inside. Bear spray was deployed during that encounter, the agency said.

No injuries were reported in connection with any of the advisories.

The most consequential response came at Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, where a group of four grizzlies, described by Alberta Parks as a family group, had been returning to the Lower Lake Campground. After one of the bears tore into the occupied tent, officials moved beyond a standard warning. Effective June 25 and lasting until at least July 6, both the Lower Lake and Boulton Creek campgrounds will permit only hard-sided camping units. Tents and other soft-sided shelters are no longer allowed.

"To ensure public safety no tents or soft sided camping accommodation units are permitted," the agency said in its advisory, adding that staff would monitor the bears and patrol the campgrounds during the restriction. The two sites are among the most heavily used in the park, and the order arrives in the heart of the early-summer camping season.

In neighboring Spray Valley Provincial Park, a separate warning went up June 24 covering the area around Mount Engadine Lodge, Mount Shark Road and the Rummel Lake Trail after a grizzly approached a hiker who was walking with a dog. A day later, on June 25, the park added a closure of the Tryst Lake parking area and surrounding terrain, citing bear activity. Both advisories remain in effect until further notice.

The clustering of incidents fits a pattern wildlife officials have flagged all season. Bears are being seen regularly throughout the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country, along trails and roads, in and around townsites, and especially in the valley bottoms, where much of their available food is concentrated this time of year, according to Bow Valley WildSmart.

WildSmart has urged campers and day users to keep sites and picnic areas free of anything that might draw a bear, storing food in hard-sided trailers, vehicles or storage lockers rather than tents and disposing of garbage in bear-proof bins. If a bin is full, the program says, visitors should carry their trash to another bin or take it home rather than leave it on the ground. A bear that learns to associate people with food, officials warn, can ultimately have to be killed.

The agency's guidance points to a central concern behind the tent ban: a bear that obtains a "food reward" is far more likely to return. If a bear approaches a campsite or picnic table, WildSmart advises securing food quickly and using bear spray.

On the roads, officials asked drivers to obey speed limits and slow for wildlife but not to stop and create "bear jams." Getting out of a vehicle to approach a roadside bear, the program said, stresses the animal and is dangerous for the public, the bear and other motorists alike.

Alberta Parks asked anyone who sees a bear or witnesses an incident in the area to report it to 403-591-7755. The agency did not say when any of the warnings or the Tryst Lake closure would be lifted, noting only that they would remain until further notice. The Lower Lake and Boulton Creek hard-sided restriction is set to run through at least July 6, subject to the bears' behavior.