Grizzly Bear Survey
In April 2008 and after a lot of thought, the Willmore Wilderness Foundation decided to gather as much
grizzly bear information from traditional sources as we could. This Grizzly Bear Survey would be used to supplement the data gathered by the Foothills Research Institute.
We requested that our members and other groups who spent considerable time on the eastern slopes and in the foothills regions forward any sightings of grizzly bears. We hoped to glean as much information as possible: i.e. colour; sows with cubs; age of cubs; whether the bears were alone or with a group; the bears’ activities; and whether there were collars or ear tags. Individual traditional land users forwarded their information to info@WillmoreWilderness.com.
The Foundation had three persons on staff who took the sightings information and created a database, which included detailed descriptions, some GPS locations of bears,
photographs and contact information
of every report for further follow-up.
After eight months of collecting data, we
had close to five hundred bear sightings
and dozens of reports of tracks where
the bears were not seen. Most of the
sightings were from Highway 16 north;
however, there were some from as far
south as the Montana border.
Our statistics included the fact that
there had been three grizzly attacks
west of Calgary over the past twelve
months, which resulted in two deaths.
This spring one oil and gas sector
worker was also mauled in the Kakwa
Region by a grizzly. We also had a
report from a former Alberta Forest
Service Ranger that his horse was
killed by a grizzly—just west of Edson.
We had numerous reports from oil
field workers that grizzlies were seen
well east of their usual habitat. One
grizzly bear was live trapped near the
schoolyard in Susa Creek, a remote
community near Grande Cache. We
also received reports of grizzly sightings
on other Native Co-ops near Grande
Cache where children play. One Grande Cache man reported that a
grizzly charged his truck, while a local
woman described how a grizzly boar
charged her car. Biologists from the
University of Laval have been doing
goat studies on Caw Ridge for the past
fifteen years and have seen a steady
increase in sightings—from one in 1994
to a high of fifty-one in 2006.
This many sightings and the areas
they were reported in (many kilometers
east of their habitual range) suggests to
us that the bear population is expanding
and more bears are being pushed out
of traditional areas. We realize that
with this type of survey, there will be a
percentage of overlap where people at
different times have seen the same bear
or bears. However, there is also the widely held beleif
that for every bear that is seen, there
are five to seven bears that are not seen.
The Willmore Wilderness Foundation is compiling the 2011 Grizzly Bear Survey and the sponsors include:
Alberta Fish and Game Association,
Alberta Wild Sheep Foundation
North Eastern Fish & Game: Zone 5
Alberta Bowhunters Association
Cheyene Rig Repair and Supply Ltd
Willmore Wildernesss Foundation
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