Fall 2010 Grizzly Bear sightings. AO members

[walking buffalo]

Have you encountered a Grizzly Bear this fall? From recent threads, many of us have.

AO Members, please Post up your Grizzly Bear sightings from this fall.



Remember to report your Grizzly bear sightings to The Willmore Wilderness Foundation. The data will not only help in developing a more accurate count on Grizzly Bear populations, this information is also important to recreational land use decisions. The fewer G bears in Alberta, the tighter recreational access will become.

From the Willmore Wilderness Foundation website.

http://willmorewilderness.com/page%2...ly_survey.html

The Willmore Wilderness Foundation will continue to work collecting traditional data for Grizzly Bear Surveys in 2010. We encourage everyone to send any data on bears to the Foundation. Please note the following:

1. Number of bear (s)
2. Colour of bears
3. What the bear was doing - activity
4. Location of the bear
5. GPS co-ordinate if possible
6. Picture of the bear
7. Was there a collar or ear tag on the bear

We need your name, phone number, email address and postal address with this information. Send any sightings to to grizzly@WillmoreWilderness.com or phone 780-827-2696.

Thank you for your support
Bazil Leonard, President

[TreeGuy]

WB, can we report one outside of the Willmore? Bumped into a beauty sow on Wednesday in Kananaskis, so would that be worth reporting?

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by TreeGuy

WB, can we report one outside of the Willmore? Bumped into a beauty sow on Wednesday in Kananaskis, so would that be worth reporting?

Yes.

My understanding is they are recording Grizzly Bear sightings from across the province.

So, what did you see Tree?

[TreeGuy]

Saw the coolest grizz ever man! She was out grazing across the valley from us about a click away from our camp. She was unbelievably silver, with a dark stripe up her spine and a dark undercarriage. Almost looked like a giant badger. Apparently, she had a pair of 2 year old cubs with her last fall with remarkably unique markings as well, and knows to stay away from camps and hunters. Real well behaved old girl by all reports. I have a crappy pic, but think my partner has a much better one and even some video. I'll post it once I get organized here.

[Albertadiver]

Mine was mid-August, and as posted on other threads, here is a brief description.

1. Number of bear (s) - 2

2. Colour of bears - brown

3. What the bear was doing - activity - eating berries

4. Location of the bear - along main trail of upper Kananaskis lake, Southeast end

5. GPS co-ordinate if possible

6. Picture of the bear - video attached

7. Was there a collar or ear tag on the bear - no


We were on the main trail, on our way to Lawson Lake. This was fairly early in the morning, around 9:00am or so.

We didn't hike very far, and my wife noticed movement in the bush. We stopped, and that's where the video starts.

They were feeding on buffalo berries about 20 feet away, by the time we noticed her. She stood up, my bear spray came out, Duke our black lab puppy sat still (thankfully!) and she resumed eating. Her berry patch was too good to bother with us. The cub poked his head threw some bushes to have a look as well, and he stayed with mom.



The video quality isn't great, but my wife’s hand was pretty shakey (as was mine). You'll hear me tapping my hiking sticks, doing a few 'hey bears', and telling my wife we need to back away. You see the sow at the start of the video, and again at the end.

After a while, she moved farther into the bush and we felt it was safe to continue on, and by then 4 other people had started up the trail and ran into us. As a group, we hiked together for a few km's.

The sow and cub were fairly placid as they had a good food source, weren't startled by us, and were happy just doing what bears do. Other than a bit of interest at first, she couldn't be bothered with us.

[spot and stock]

Saw a big old boy on Sept 11th.

Location: west on 549 from Millarville, on the north side by the 312/406 border

Colour: Dark Brown

Number of bears: 1

Ear Tag or Collar: No ear tag

Activity: Was eating off the side of a cutline.

Anyone headed out there be carefull this bear was not scared of us at all. Had a stare down at 45 yards, my buddy holding the cow elk decoy more than likely didn't help. I wasn't going to dig through my pack to get the camera, but we did take some pics of tracks on the way out.

[podman]

what about grizz tracks? We found some that were bigger and wider than my size 10 hunting boot. We never saw the bear he had been in the snow the day before.

[ruttnbuckcojack]

Me and the father-in-law seen a good size grizz along Limestone creek. Me and the dogs came across a decent track on Wilson creek. There was also two grizz's spotted around the burtstick lake area. This might just be my personal oppion but the count on Grizzlys in Alberta must have been done by someone who count as high as my 3 year old daughter:

[blackmamba]

I bumped into one on saturday , she was eating berries and when i came around the corner she just lifted her head looked at me and continued on eating !! it was actually pretty cool to see , she had no care in the world that I was there !! But 45 yards is a little close for my likings !!!

[ddp]

A buddy and I spotted a nice boar eating on some berries along the creek. We mangaged to sneek in and get some pics. I will post them soon

[ram crazy]

I saw a tank of a Grizzly in Ptolemy drainage. At first I thought it was sheep as it was in some bushes and then he stepped out of the bushes. He was the same color as a sheep, kinda cool to see, but once it started to snow and we lost visibility of him it was time to get out of dodge. One just never knows where they can show up once you lose sight of them.

[GooseSlammer]

Hey Guys,

Can't help with the location details for tracking, but cool day for my buddy on Friday. He was up in 406 on horseback and he saw (what he said) a HUGE grizzly. It was just walking up a trail they were on, and didn't give a care in the world that they were there. My buddy does a pile of hunting, and he has seen a lot of bears in his life (including Grizzlies). He sounded pretty impressed with size, and simply said he was "really happy not to be on foot that day!".

On the same day, he had a pack of 5 wolves coming up the trail behind them. As soon as they realized he noticed them, they scattered. He said that they came within about 20 yards. Pretty cool. (And before anyone starts in on it, I know what you're thinking! I've never seen a grizz in the wild and only one wolf, and he sees them both in one day? Believe it if you like, this guys not a liar...) I'm a little jealous, but I probably would have needed a change of pants seeing a grizz at close range.

[Rook]

3 weeks ago a big grizz boar. Eating in an oats field along side a herd of elk. (Okay about 150 yds off to one side) He had the mass of the biggest cow in the herd. Elk were mighty interested in keeping him in site while he paid no attention to the elk. Me 3/4 miles away looking through the binos.

Sunday past, grizz sow and two 2 year old cubs in the same oats field. Within 50 yds and the cubs running at me. (They thought I was an elk as I was hidden and bulging). Me no gun and no trees. I headed out on the run yelling at the bears (time to play dead only if they'd caught me). Thankfully they turned and headed out of the field.

1/2 hour later dead elk in same field. Me, somewhat excited deboning an elk with the wind blowing in the direction the bears went. Never saw them again.

Next time regardless of inconvenience, gun comes along.

WMU 302.

[300 wsm]

1 male boar in 404 5 yr old assuming dark brown with little blond silver accents in upper portion of body.HE WAS MASSIVE saw him from 15 feet as he walked across the trunk road

[jimbos1]

what part of 302 where you in ? i hunt in an area and till last wkend have never seen a bear but there it was small black bear,others have seen lots but not me which is ok with me

[Slick66]

We had a Grizz near our house two weeks ago. We live West of Violet Grove (near Drayton Valley). It was wandering through our neighbours pasture with his cattle, it didn't seem to even care about the cows. It was at least the same size or bigger than the biggest cow in the herd. It's front end was black, mid section was grizz brown, and the back end was black. It was quite a nice looking bear.

[troutfly]

Saw a sow with cub on Sept 11th. Was glassing a cutblock approx a km away from the road just south of the second crossing of Wilkinson Creek on the Trunk road. (WMU 402)
Sow was pretty good size as was the cub though smaller. Brown with a very pronounced shoulder hump.
Thought she might keep coming toward the road but a couple of folks on loud dirt bikes zipped by and the noise got her attention as well. Bad day to not have a telephoto lense on!
Impressed the heck out of my fishing buddy from Maine!

[noslack]

I had a griz charge me in June near Cadomin....would that be worth reporting???

He had a tracking collar

I did manage to snap a couple pics and a quick vid of the ordeal.

[Headdamage]

My wife just had a run in with a big Grizzly today. We where out for opening day in 406 and at midday I went to check out the next cut block over, on my way back she calls me on the radio to say there is a big Grizzly looking at her. It buggered off though so all was well when I got back there. It also made us a little tense when we where dealing with a Mule deer buck I shot at sunset in the same place. The wife pulled guard duty while I dragged the bugger over ridge and back to the truck. We also called in a small bull moose to with in 25m of us first thing in the morning so all in all it was great first day hunting for my wife.

[pottymouth]

I must say, the berry crop this must have been a bumper crop ! Usually by this time of year I have an average of 7ish different G-bear pics, the most being 2 years ago at 13. This year I have only ran into 1????

[troutfly]

Originally Posted by troutfly

Saw a sow with cub on Sept 11th. Was glassing a cutblock approx a km away from the road just south of the second crossing of Wilkinson Creek on the Trunk road. (WMU 402)
Sow was pretty good size as was the cub though smaller. Brown with a very pronounced shoulder hump.
Thought she might keep coming toward the road but a couple of folks on loud dirt bikes zipped by and the noise got her attention as well. Bad day to not have a telephoto lense on!
Impressed the heck out of my fishing buddy from Maine!

Actually was in 404 not 402.

[noslack]

[blacknorthernjk]

Last night, WMU 437 Eastern most side off of Hwy 40.
Momma and 3 cubs.
N 52-53.105' W 116-34.376'
1900 hrs.
No collars or tags.

[elkoholik]

Saw a sow and 3 cubs on the Forestry trunk road less than a mile south of the elk river turn off, couldn't get a pic but watched them for a few minutes before ma got nervous and went into the bush.

[blacknorthernjk]

Originally Posted by elkoholik

Saw a sow and 3 cubs on the Forestry trunk road less than a mile south of the elk river turn off, couldn't get a pic but watched them for a few minutes before ma got nervous and went into the bush.

They look much like the ones above? ...same spot

[elkoholik]

Originally Posted by blacknorthernjk

They look much like the ones above? ...same spot

Yes looked very much the same. Was good to see three healthy cubs.

[walking buffalo]

Good stuff guys, keep posting your reports. Thanks!

From The Willmore Foundation

Thank you for all your support of the Grizzly Bear Survey and to the Willmore Wilderness Foundation.

We are accepting data from across the province.

I have been following the thread link that you have sent me. It’s volunteer’s like you that make the Grizzly Bear Program a success. Thank you for your support.

Jennifer Houlihan

2010 Grizzly Bear Survey
Willmore Wilderness Foundation

grizzly@willmorewilderness.com

[muley300]

Saw a small one today on the west side of Chain Lks west of Nanton.
No collar, eating berries.

[Mountainman.50]

We seen a Boar Grizzly yesterday in the Hunmmingbird west of Rocky. Pretty good size bear, 6 inch front pad. We watched him from three hundred yards wandering up the creek. Snapped a couple of pictures, but not great photos, too far for my camera.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by Mountainman.50

We seen a Boar Grizzly yesterday in the Hunmmingbird west of Rocky. Pretty good size bear, 6 inch front pad. We watched him from three hundred yards wandering up the creek. Snapped a couple of pictures, but not great photos, too far for my camera.

By the upper falls?