{"id":36,"date":"2006-08-04T23:31:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-04T20:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rocky-peak.com\/blog\/?p=36"},"modified":"2006-08-04T23:31:00","modified_gmt":"2006-08-04T20:31:00","slug":"bear-cub-dies-during-relocation-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rocky-peak.com\/blog\/2006\/08\/bear-cub-dies-during-relocation-from.html","title":{"rendered":"Bear cub dies during relocation from Canmore"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cub dies after encounters with dogs force bears to be relocated. Mother black bear and family gone from Canmore Nordic Centre.<\/span><\/div>\n

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After several incidents where a sow black bear with two cubs born this year ran at illegally off-leash dogs at the Canmore Nordic Centre over the past three weeks, conservation officers decided on Thursday to relocate the sow and its cubs to avoid any further conflicts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, one of the cubs did not survive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Nordic Centre is a high use recreational family facility with people running, hiking and riding mountain bikes,\u201d said Glenn Naylor, district conservation officer with Parks and Protected Areas. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely a public safety issue that this could escalate once it got started. As a result the decision was made to relocate the family unit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A bear culvert trap was set in a closed area at the Nordic Centre Thursday. The 23-year-old sow known to Canmore residents as Timberline had been caught in a trap three times over the past 10 years and always returned to the area, so officers didn\u2019t believe it would walk into a trap a fourth time. They darted the bear and its cubs with tranquilizers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the cubs didn\u2019t survive during the immobilization process,\u201d Naylor said. \u201cThe immobilization and capture process is always a stressful and traumatic event for all wildlife. To be caught and handled by humans is very stressful. Attempts were made to revive it but they were unsuccessful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the death of the cub is very unfortunate, the surviving cub now has a better chance at making it through the winter, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne surviving cub will have a better chance than two,\u201d Naylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sow and her surviving cub were taken to the Plateau Mountain area, at the very south end of Kananaskis Country, said wildlife biologist Jon Jorgenson.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sow had been living in the Canmore area for 10 years and in the Banff area prior to that, Naylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before this summer, Timberline never showed any aggression towards people or dogs, Jorgenson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis issue has been created because of people with their dogs off leash, even in areas where it is prohibited. We now have a serious public safety issue that basically has been created by people allowing their dogs off leash,\u201d Jorgenson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Something may have happened that was not reported, he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we think happened is that in the past three to four weeks, somewhere around this community or in a park, Timberline has had an altercation with dogs off leash that have threatened her and her cubs,\u201d Naylor said. \u201cAs a result, she suddenly started becoming aggressive towards dogs. We have no record of her doing that in the past.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Timberline is collared with a telemetry collar, so officers can monitor the sow\u2019s location if they are in its area.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that she (and her cub) will survive,\u201d Jorgenson said. \u201cThe cub has a chance if it stays with her and if she is a good mother. The biggest concern is that they will have to deal with grizzly bears and other black bears in the area. Grizzlies are quite predatory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada, was disappointed to hear the news of the bears.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first failure of Bow Valley WildSmart,\u201d said Pissot, who is a board member for the organization. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a few good successes to date. But because we had a situation where people misbehaved, a longtime resident bear and her two cubs have had to pay the price.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Pissot asked how many citations were issued to people with dogs off leash and how many people were observed walking their dogs off leash.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very serious issue,\u201d Pissot said. \u201cThe question to WildSmart would be, that if it were under fully resourced circumstances, what would the community have done differently?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Relocation doesn\u2019t always work, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRelocating bears is just like taking the bunnies from south Canmore down to Old Camp,\u201d Pissot said. \u201cIt\u2019s like killing them out of sight, where there\u2019s no cameras and no reporters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a situation that involves bears and people,\u201d Pissot said. \u201cWe fly the bear out of sight. But what are we going to do with the people who are up at the Nordic Centre right now, at this very minute, with their dogs off leash, contrary to the law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now busy creating the next crisis,\u201d Pissot said. \u201cWhat are we going to do about it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The area is patrolled and monitored and tickets have been given to people disobeying the law, Naylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Late Tuesday, a person reported seeing a grizzly bear with two cubs on Junction Three by the Banff Trail at the Nordic Centre.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying to confirm wether it is a grizzly or black bear,\u201d Naylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEither way, we are putting warning signs up in the area. Officers will be monitoring the area.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Warning signs are also up on the Many Springs Trail in Bow Valley Provincial Park due to a grizzly bear in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year there is a bumper crop of buffaloberries and people going into wooded areas should stay alert, carry bear spray, travel in groups, make noise and of course, keep dogs on-leash Naylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Pam Doyle – <\/span>Canmore Leader<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n