Joel Kom, Calgary Herald

Published: Friday, March 28, 2008

He’d like to see a “one-stop shop” where federal, provincial and publicly reported information is compiled as one.

Darcy Whiteside, a spokesman for Sustainable Resource Development, said while the province contributes information to WildSmart, another tracking website, officials would see how the new website goes before discussing their own any further.

The bears, meanwhile, are awakening from their winter naps.A remote camera on a wildlife overpass in Banff National Park snapped a male grizzly trudging through the snow earlier this month, while reports of fresh bear tracks have come from as far north as the Canmore area and as far south as Montana.

The adult males come out first from hibernation, followed by single females and then females with cubs, said Gordon Stenhouse, chair of the provincial grizzly bear recovery team.

The southern part of the province is already seeing reports of bears, while bears in the more northern areas like Hinton — near the mountain town of Jasper — are still sleeping.

By mid-April, virtually all of the bears will be out of their dens — and they will be hungry.

“If you think they’re just coming out of the dens and they’re lethargic, that’s really not the case,” he said.

The bears are likely to go to low-lying areas where there’s more vegetation.

Parks staff hope this year will see fewer bear deaths from human-related encounters.

Last year saw five grizzlies die in Banff, Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay national parks, the second-highest total in the past five years.

Seven grizzlies died in 2005, while 2006 saw no bears killed.

Last year’s numbers spiked in part because of the deaths of a sow and her two cubs on train tracks. The mother was killed by one train, while the cubs were killed the next day by another train on the grain-covered tracks.

Syme said the Canadian Pacific Railway is refurbishing its cars to reduce the amount of spilled grain onto the tracks, which attracts hungry bears.

Fencing in Lake Louise along the Trans-Canada Highway should also reduce the danger to bears, he said, while the wildlife overpasses are being used more frequently by all mountain animals.

jkom@theherald.canwest.com

Bear Safety Tips

- Travel in groups, preferably four people together

- Make noise

- Watch for fresh bear tracks and droppings

- Carry bear spray

- If you’re cycling, go slowly through shrubby areas and blind corners

- Keep your dog on a leash

Bear Information Websites

www.trailex.org; www.wildsmart.ca