Calgary resident Glenn Suart wasn’t expecting to start his day with a black bear running by.
“7:45 this morning, I drove out of the cul-de-sac, turned the corner just at Louis Riel School and suddenly saw this black bear running across the street and then run up into a tree,” the Oakridge resident said Thursday.
Suart and his neighbours reported the sighting to police, who then brought it to the attention of Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services.
“Hour later, I’m looking out my window and I could see the police officers and the wildlife officers walking down the cul-de-sac, because the bear had been tranquilized,” he said.
“Then the police officers and the wildlife officers did a great job and took it away,” Suart said.
In a statement to CBC News, an Alberta Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said the female bear was successfully captured. After being removed from the neighbourhood, the bear went through a health screening.
“The bear showed no signs of injury and was deemed healthy and fit for release,” said Calli Forbes.
“She was relocated to a remote area outside Calgary where she could safely return to the wild and have the best chance of survival.”
Southwest Calgary known to attract bears
“It was really cool, cause 25 years living in this neighborhood, never seen a bear here before,” Suart said.
According to Fish and Wildlife, the black bear captured Thursday morning is believed to have been the same one seen in southwest Calgary multiple times over the last few weeks, including west of the Glenmore Reservoir and near South Glenmore Park.
Oakridge is one of multiple southwest Calgary neighbourhoods the City of Calgary says bears are known to frequent, alongside communities like Discovery Ridge and Woodlands.
In August, a black bear was tranquilized in Signal Hill after being filmed at the nearby Westhills shopping centre.
Kristine Strom filmed a young black bear in an unusual environment: the Westhills shopping centre in southwest Calgary. A few hours later, police said the bear was captured in the nearby neighbourhood of Signal Hill.
Southwest Calgary’s location on the outskirts of the city makes much of the quadrant a prime location for bear activity, said wildlife biologist Sara Jordan-McLachlan.
“It is that connection to the foothills, because they are typically moving from the western part of the city, where there’s a lot more natural space to the west of us, and they are using those river corridors to move into the city,” she said.
“[Southwest Calgary is] right next to a wildlife corridor, along the Elbow River and then also the Bow River as well,” Jordan-McLachlan said.
Bear activity in Calgary is typically limited to black bears, though grizzly bears are known to live relatively close to the city.
“Black bears are a little bit more adaptable and willing to use human areas a little bit more,” Jordan-McLachlan said.
She added that the best way to avoid bear encounters in the city is to keep dogs on-leash in natural areas and properly store garbage and compost.
Reports of bear activity continue across Alberta
Despite recent temperature drops in Alberta, bear encounters continue to be reported throughout the province.
Bear warnings were issued by Alberta Parks last week for popular parts of Kananaskis Country.
A warning is in place for the Sparrowhawk day use area, effective Oct. 8, due to a bear bluff-charging a hiker there. Another bluff charge on Oct. 6 led to a bear warning being put in place for the Mount Lipsett and Mist Mountain area.
Peter Lougheed Discovery & Information Centre Meadow and Rockwall Trail have been closed since Sept. 15 due to the presence of “multiple bears feeding in the area.” The visitor centre remains open to visitors.
Bears only have one thing on their mind at this time of year, said Nick de Ruyter, program director of the Biosphere Institute’s WildSmart program.
“That’s food,” he said. “Their brain is telling them ‘eat, eat, eat, eat, eat’ to survive the upcoming winter, and so that’s their main focus.”
He said people living in or visiting bear country should be prepared for bear encounters for the rest of fall.
“Right through till November, and maybe end of November, when most of the bears have gone into their dens,” de Ruyter said.
