Highway 40 is one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Kananaskis in Alberta and the beauty can easily be compared to the more famous national parks Banff and Jasper. The road is closed during winter and opens annually mid-June for through traffic, one one of my highlights every year. I always look forward to be able to drive this stretch.
It is not uncommon to encounter wildlife in this area and we were lucky to encounter both grizzly and moose this day. The grizzly below was feasting on wildflowers just 500 meters past the trail head of the most popular family hike in the area. I guess the hikers had no idea what lured further downhill! I noticed the trail is now closed to the public due to bear activity.
I got a picture of the grizzly from the side as well where the characteristic hump on its back was very prominent. I find the hump the easiest way to differentiate between a black bear and a grizzly. It is a common mistake to think that black bears are black, which is not always the case so only using colour can be misleading.
Difference between grizzly and black bear – from Parks Canada
I recently read a concerning article I would like to share with you. There has been observed an increasing number of visitors feeding wildlife from their cars in the national parks in the Canadian Rockies, especially bear and wolf. Please do not feed wildlife! This is endangering the animal in several ways. It is causing the animal to become habituated to cars and roads increasing the risk of collision and death for the animals. It is also causing the animals to be too familiar with people and they start associating people with food, it happens that bears have to be put down due to this.
If you see someone feeding a bear, officials ask that you write down their licence plate and, if it’s safe to do so, take a photo or video of the unlawful feeding and the person or vehicle involved. It can then be reported to 1-888-WARDENS (927-3367).
You can read more about a visitor to Banff National Park being fined 1.000$ for feeding bears on Calgary Herald.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, we’d love to hear what you think. Are there bears in the area where you live? What precautions do you take to prevent an encounter?
oh – I would love to see a grizzly bear once!!
And I can’t imagine, how stupid you have to be to feed these wild animals… I mean I sometimes feel the urge to feed ducks in the parks of my city… or sparrows in a beer garden… but I don’t want grizzlies to think that a parking car is a can with food inside… 😀
The grizzlies are beautiful! It is always exciting when we come across them (in our car off course, I wouldn’t want to meet one the the trail while hiking…). As you I don’t understand what people are thinking when they feed them. ‘A fed bear is a dead bear’ is the saying here. ‘Car is a can with food inside’ – I like that one!! 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Nice post. I agree with you that it is stupid to feed wild animals and I truly don’t understand the people who do it… We encountered grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park. They are impressive animals and I prefer to see them from a distance. (Suzanne)
Thanks for you comment Suzanne! We are actually headed to Yellowstone this fall so we are hoping to see grizzlies there as well:) Did you see a lot of them in Yellowstone?
They are beautiful your pictures grizzly bear,
the moose is beautiful. it’s true that wild animals
adapt too much to man when they are fed.
I thank you for the photos, congratulations.
I wish you a good day.
Thanks a lot for your generous comment Hervé! They are both beautiful animals, but both can be dangerous and one should keep a safe distance. But they make very good pictures of you have a telephoto lens:) Have a great day!
No bears where I live, just foxes!
When I think about it I have actually seen more bears than foxes here. We do have coyotes as well, see them more often than foxes. Funny:)
Beautiful creatures!
We do have black bears around, but they are few and far between – I’ve never seen one anywhere near where we live, though I have seen signs that they’ve been around. I don’t worry about running into one of them because they are relatively rare.
As for the feeding of the wildlife, in Death Valley I saw coyotes who were obviously used to being fed by people. I feel awful for the animals, who don’t know that those “free” handouts could well cost them their lives.
Agreed Sarah, they are magnificent! I guess it is only a good thing that you haven’t run into a black bear while out:) I am always a bit more worried about meeting a grizzly, but black bears (especially mother with cub) is no joke either! I too feel awful for the animals being fed. ‘A fed bear is a dead bear’. And I guess the same goes for other animals as well.
Thanks for reading!
Your grizzly photos are amazing. Isn’t it amazing how ignorant and stupid people can be? We just hiked yesterday in a state park 60 miles west of Chicago and the liter/plastic bottles all over the place was sickening.
Thanks Ingrid, appreciate your generous comment. The grizzly was borderline to how far my lens could reach (new one on the wish list…). It is so disappointing to find trash like that out in nature. Who just throws stuff on the ground? Another thing I often find is fishing lines. That is even worse than bottles as all sorts of animals could easily get caught in the line. That reminds me I have some fishing line in my backpack I found on our last hike I have to throw out:)
Thanks for reading!
Do people *actually* feed grizzly bears and wolves from their cars? And then perhaps are concerned because said grizzlies and wolves descend into town to look for an easy meal? Ah, to think that we ought to be the peak of nature’s evolution!
Yes, unfortunately they do… Very often it is tourists going through the area wanting to get a better look or a photo. I sometimes doubt we are the peak of nature’s evolution:)
I would so enjoy seeing the bears, from my car of course. Beautiful images and a wonderful place to live and take photos. People feeding bears is dangerous. They deserve a big fine. Moose are dangerous too and I am not sure how many are as afraid of them, but a mom with baby moose or a rutting male, well that would be trouble. We have elk at a local wildlife farm where I used to work, and they are very nasty at rut time. I never trusted them anytime during the year, but come fall, they were just plain ornery.
Thanks Donna! It is always a thrill to see bears, so beautiful animals! Moose and elk can be equally dangerous for sure. I am always surprised how close some people go to the elk in rut season. Seen it several times in Jasper in fall, despite the warnings posted all over the city:)
Fantastic post Inger. Really enjoyed the grizzly and moose photos. The grizzly eating the wildflowers is simply astounding. Thanks too for a nod of conservation regarding people feeding wild animals. 🙂
Thank you so much Jet! It is always a thrill to be able to photograph these majestic animals. I love it so much that I just invested in a better telephoto lens so hoping to get even better photos from now on:)
Fantastic photos, Inger! We have black bears in Michigan. There are also moose in the upper peninsula.
Jim
Thank you Jim! Awesome that you have bears in your area as well. Do you see them a lot?
Very rarely. They do find their way into the cities, every so often. 🙂
Such great photo of the grizzly, the only bear I’ve seen in the wild is a black bear way off in the distance near Yellowstone. Looks like you were pretty close to the grizzly, did you talk your partner into going up to it so you could get a good photo op?!? 🙂
Loved the moose as well, they are one of my favorites.
Thanks Randall! I’ve actually seen more grizzlies then black bears, but that is probably because the parts of the Rockies we often visit is prime grizzly territory and the black bears tend to stay away from the grizzly. We had a 300mm on so we weren’t too close to the grizzly, and the photo was captured from the safety of our car. I would not want to meet this guy that close in open territory!
Seems like the moose was a younger one. I was a bit surprised over the light brown colour of his face, they are normally much darker.
Fabulous photos, Inger. What lens did you use with the bear pics?
Thanks Frank! The lens is a Olympus 40-150 mm and I used a 1.4X converter. It does however not get me close enough I feel, so I just invested in a 150-600mm 🙂 Looking forward to trying it out!
Stunning photos! Oh my goodness so incredible to see a grizzly like that. Thank yu for sharing the message about not feeding the wildlife. What do people think?
Thanks Sue! It is awesome to see the majestic animals. It is something I always appreciate tremendously:)
No bears where I live, but my sister lives in Montana and when we did some hiking while visiting, we saw one from a distance (I think a grizzly). She always carries bear spray though, especially when hiking or camping.
Awesome that you saw one when hiking, fortunately from a safe distance:) Only time I have seen one when hiking is in Alaska, that was a black bear with a cub:) Bear spray is a must around here.
Where I live (at the German Baltic Sea) live no bears. And I’m very lucky about it. 😀 I really don’t want to meet one. I read that they are back in Norway and in the Alps as well. So I have to be carefully while wandering around there. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and you can be sure that I’ll not do feed any wild animal.
I had no idea there were bears in the Alps! Thank for the heads up:) There has always been bears in Norway along the boarder between Russia and Norway, but like you say I think there are more in the southern parts as well now coming over the boarder from Sweden.
I’ve only seen a grizzly once, from a good distance, in Yellowstone many years ago. Didn’t have a camera with a telephoto at that time, unfortunately. Since we live in a suburb of Chicago, I sincerely hope not to see bears, but in the Big Horn Mountains in the summer, we’ve seen black bears (as well as moose.) Many people seem to have a problem with the “wild” part of “wild animals” and do damage both to the animals and, too often, to themselves by not understanding. I think some of that comes from people anthropomorphizing animals or thinking animals are like Disney animals. Where we lived before, deer were a big problem and some cities wanted to cull the herds using snipers. People protested that children might be shot (not likely unless dressed like a deer and the sniper was almost blind) and no culling was done, much to the detriment of the deer as well as the people whose gardens were ruined or cars hit by deer. If there are no natural predators (no one would want to introduce wolves to keep the deer population down!), you have to do something, for the sake of the deer, if nothing else.
janet
Thank you so much for the insight Janet! I fully agree. We actually had a conversation about this it work the other day. People who are not used to wildlife and have only seen bears and other wildlife in Disney moves might think they are all cute and cuddly and not dangerous to humans. Which off course is as far for the truth as you can get. It was confirmed by a co-worked who just visited Jasper. Some big horn sheep were standing by the road and lots of tourists had stopped to take photos. What happened next make my jaws drop…. One of the ladies that had stopped to take photos approached one of the big horn sheep to pet it!
I discovered that a lot of people ignore this problem.
Maybe only better information would prevent them to feed wild animals….
As for your post , I found it extremely interesting , with stunning photos and text!
Thank you so much! I definitely agree that education is key so people understand what feeding wildlife leads to. Thanks for you comment!
Great captures of the grizzly Inger! When we lived in Yellowstone National Park, they had the same issues there with people feeding wildlife or getting far too close. I can’t understand why this doesn’t fall under the category of common sense. But I guess not everyone possesses much of this.
Thanks Lu Ann! I agree with you that is is common sense, but like a co+worker said to me the other day …. the population is probably formed a a Bell curve where most of us fall into the middle but there will always be those on the edge of the curve with a different understanding … 🙂 Awesome that you lived in Yellowstone, what did you do? Were you working on some of the campgrounds?
I managed the reservations’ department and my husband managed a couple of bookstores for Yellowstone Association. It was a wonderful experience, especially spending winters in Yellowstone.
Yikes! You were so close to that grizzly!!! Great photos though, as always! 🙂
Thanks a bunch! It was a pretty awesome experience, as always! They are majestic to watch:)
…And also very informative! 🙂
What a special day to see grizzly and moose! Great post.
When I was on that road last year, they were still working on the bridges after the big floods and you couldn’t drive that far down. Has that been fixed?
Thanks Lyle! Yes, entire highway 40 is back now. There is only a small section they are still working on, but there is a detour around it.
Thx for the update
A really good article. We saw 2 grizzlies pulling off a road kill the last time we were in K Country. As Forest Gump said, stupid is as stupid does and that pertains also to feeding wild animals. They get accustomed to people and food and thus you can have a bad animal/human interaction. If you have not seen it, PBS in america did the “Night of the Grizzlies”. It is the story of 2 separate fatal bear attacks the same night in Glacier National Park. It is not gory but tries to tell the story of what and why it happened. keep up the articles, I enjoy reading them and seeing the photos. Jim
Thanks Jim, much appreciated! It must have been a pretty awesome experience to see the grizzlies pulling off the road kill. That doesn’t happen to often I would guess.
I haven’t seen ‘Night of the Grizzlies’, it definitely sounds interesting. Wonder if I can find it online?
check your local pbs station for the show, it was just on again several weeks ago. We did a hike in Glacier NP and ate lunch at the chalet of the first attack. Good luck on finding the video. Jim
We’ve just spent some time in Alberta and absolutely loved seeing all the wildlife. What a great place! Although it’s always quite comforting to get back to Europe and to know you’re back at the top of the food chain!
Awesome that you were just here! Was it for vacation? We have had family over from Europe several time to visit and they also love seeing all the wildlife here.
I agree it is definitely something you need to get used to, knowing that there are grizzlies around when you go out hiking in the mountains. But if you take precautions chances are very small that you should have an encounter.
wow, so wonderful! I would love to see one, just at least one will make me a happy girl! Great post, Inger 🙂
Thanks Indah! It definitely does something to you seeing one of these majestic animals. I am always so happy when we come across one! 🙂
Beautiful photos, Inger. You were very close to that bear, though! Gives me chills! hahaha! I really do hope that with more education, people will not be so ignorant about feeding wild animals – in zoos or in the wild. Not only is it a disruption to their diets and feeding habits, but also dangerous for us humans.
Years ago I went to a mountain in the province of Sichuan. Unfortunately, the monkeys there are used to been fed by local tourists, and one of the smaller males actually jumped on to a friend’s backpack, and was trying to open it to get to the snacks in it. I had a walking stick, and was about to try chase it away, when a much larger male sitting on the side bared his teeth and started to growl at me. Not a pleasant experience at all!
Thank you! It was pretty awesome seeing it so close up. No danger as we were in the safety of our car. I fully agree with you – more education is probably the only thing that would help against feeding wildlife. The monkey storey sounds a bit scary. I am sure the monkeys can do some damage is they turn angry:)
I wasn’t taking a chance with that large male, and fortunately more local tourists arrived, making a lot of noise, and they were scared off. The monkey on the backpack did manage to steal some snacks though. I was just grateful that neither of us were hurt.
The sheer size of a grizzly bear is awe inspiring. We had a chance to see several when we visited Yellowstone and there is no way I want to cross one while hiking. Great photos, thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I agree with you, they are just awesome to watch. Majestic animals. And I would definitely also not want to come across one while hiking! That would be a bit too much excitement for me:)
Yes, there have been a lot more grizzly encourage ters in our area, I guess they are getting to use to people.
An amazing post. Didn’t know that bears and grizzlies can come so close! This is eye-opening for me! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! They often like to feed on wildflowers along the road. The forest is often dense and no wildflowers will grow. But along the road all the trees are cut down and it creates an idea place for the wildflowers to grow, which attract the bears.
This is a place that I can’t wait to revisit.
I can see why:) The Rockies is an awesome spot!
What a beauty! Scoping on the moose I presume. Great sighting.
Thanks Ron!! The grizzly and the moose was actually a bit of a distance apart – but I am sure the grizzly wouldn’t say no the opportunity had it found the moose:) The moose was actually in an area where there is a lot of human traffic – I suspect it knows the grizzly will not come to these areas thus it is safer for the moose.
I remember someone in Yellowstone national park explaining to us the difference between a black bear and a grizzly. We were lucky to see both on the same day (from far away). I’m also disgusted by people feeding wildlife in general (even squirrels in national park). Despite all the signs placed everywhere, they keep doing it, It’s so so annoying. Why people do that ? It’s harming them so much…. 🙁
Awesome that you were able to see both in Yellowstone. We are going there in a couple of weeks, hope we get to see them as well. With regards to people feeding wildlife..I agree with you fully. I cannot understand why people do it. Hopefully more eduction can help teach people what it is leading to. There has been several instances around here where they have had to take out bears who started to associate humans with food after being fed. The saying around here is ‘a fed bear is a dead bear’.
Wow – what a magnificent sight!
Thank you so much! They are magnificent:)
This is amazing! Your pictures are gorgeous. The wildflowers and wildlife are everything I want to see on hikes.
Thanks a bunch Nicole! Much appreciated. I also love the wildflowers and wildlife, but I would be ok with not seeing grizzlies while hiking:)
Lol that’s totally understandable!!
Remind me of our trip to Canadian Rockies many years ago, and to Yellowstone where we saw some wildlife and a bear from a distance. You are a very good photographer, and love the way you capture wildlife…animals, flowers! Thank you for sharing.
Please check out my website, http://www.ramonadetravels.wordpress.com. My husband and I love to travel and enjoy sharing our experience through my photos.
Best Regards
Than you so much! Awesome that you had to chance to see wildlife around here. It is something I always appreciate tremendously. I’ll be sure to check out you site.
Beautiful photos, thank you for sharing. Reminded me of our sighting of a bear when we went to Yellowstone many years ago.
My husband and I like to travel and share our experience through my photos. Please check them out and let me know what you think.
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Oh my gosh those photos of the grizzly are just amazing! You must have a great lens? I wish I could get a photo as good as those, we saw grizzlies at Yellowstone but from very far away.
Thank you so much Bec! It was only a 150 mm lens with a 1.4X converter so the grizzly was fairly close. I would say it was not more than 100 meters:) We are actually going to Yellowstone this fall. Looking forward to it! Any recommendations?
We saw a picture of a bear on Face Book in a strawberry patch on a farm less than two miles from us, so I guess I would say yes, there are bears around where we live. Enjoyed your blog and information about people feeding them. I would say stay as far away as you can get. You really did get some nice pictures. We have some good ones from Alaska.
Haha..that is funny! Yes you definitely seem to have bears in your area as well. I didn’t know bears liked strawberries:) I love Alaska! Did you post them on your site?
Your posts always draw me back to Canada. It’s been 13 years – well overdue a return trip. Your photos are awesome.
Thank you, much appreciated! Canada is definitely worth another visit. I am sure lots have changed in 13 years:)
In 1998 I visit my friends in Wyoming and there I saw a Grisley bear with 2 little ones crossing a roa ad.A fantastic thing.The day after on a trip to Yellowstone I saw a moose jumping over a fence to meet a lady moose at the other side of the road.He’s in love and we can see him making love to her.Somethings like that i never forgot in my hole life
What awesome experiences you had! I agree – you remember those types of encounters forever. I always appreciate seeing wildlife and hope we can take care of it so that generations to come can have the same experiences!
Incredible captures! We were told that the wild animals have great memory. If they find food in a place, they keep coming back 15 years later.
Incredible wildlife sightings.
How amazing!
The Grizzly Bear looks so cuddly. 🙂 Wonderful shots.
Great shots! It’s always such a treat to see a grizzly (especially from one’s vehicle). I also love the shot you got of the beautiful Red Paintbrush in the meadows in your header. I love Kananaskis Country! Beautiful post! ~ Jeannie :))
I’ve finally rediscovered your blog, Inger! And I’m so happy about it, I see that I missed some great adventures. With bears, I have mixed feelings, I would love to see them in the wild, but I also realize that they can be dangerous, so I actually don’t know if I should envy you or not 😀
I am so happy to see you back Patricia! I get you on the bear dilemma. I know we have bears in Scandinavia, but I have never heard of anyone meeting one. They are far and few between. Here they are more abundant and meeting one out hiking is not un realistic. I was scared to death during our first hike, but I guess you get used to everything. No I don’t think about it more then ensuring we have bear spray with us and make a little bit of noise on the trail! 🙂
Cool photos of the moose and bear. 😉 It’s amazing that people feed wild animals. Here, in Florida, some folks feed alligators and bears. Crazy!