A video of three grizzly bears interacting in a Pemberton field gathered more than 4,000 views on social media this month. In the video, two yearlings tell another grizzly where to go. While those helping the threatened population were happy to see the bears act like they would in the backcountry, they are warning people about the dangers of illegal bear viewing.
Dr. Lana Ciarniello is one of the leading bear experts in her field, having researched black bears and grizzlies since 1993. She told Pique the video shows the bears having a conversation.
“It’s totally normal behaviour,” she said. “Grizzly bears are territorial. They are saying ‘buzz off’ to the one that’s trying to join them ... That’s how bears talk to each other. They use their body language and the positioning to speak to each other.”
She confirmed the two yearlings in the area are orphans, but experts don’t know how their mother died.
“We don’t know what happened at all,” said Ciarniello. “They had a year and a bit with mum so hopefully they have some survival skills. What’s most detrimental to their survival is humans.”
Residents in Pemberton Meadows raised concerns about how close grizzlies were to their homes last season. Some parents said they meet their children at the bus with guns and trucks in tow after a too-close-for-comfort encounter.
Ciarniello said the population is just starting to get back to normal after the gold rush.
“At one time, that valley would have had a lot of bears. We shot the mother bear and we had some habitat alteration,” she said. “Now, they are starting to recover but we are going to love them to death. One of the things that happens when we are trying to recover the population is that the bears grow. They come down and fill these fracture areas. What we are hoping is that they keep expanding and then they move into these threatened units.”
Last fall, an unauthorized bear tour company operating out of Whistler caused great concern for the Lil’wat Nation, government officials, bear experts and local farmers. The now closed ‘Yogi Bear Tours’ shed a light on the issues illegal bear viewings cause for both residents and bears.
“The bears get used to people. They get used to the goodies in the area,” said Ciarniello. “Eventually, a conflict happens, and they get killed. The benefit of the doubt is very rarely given to the bear.”
The bear expert said there should be no viewing of threatened populations.
“When these people leave after these viewing experiences, it’s the bears and the residents that pay the price,” she said. “Now the bears are much more used to humans, they will start to push the boundaries and move closer to houses. These bears haven’t been subjected to any type of garbage. That’s really, really good. If viewers drop food or leave something there, you might as well put a bullet in the bear’s head. Once a viewer gets too close, they will get attacked. People tend to push boundaries.”
Tourists also set up camp on private property, infringing on residents’ privacy.
“I wouldn’t want people driving towards my property and looking into my yard with high-powered binoculars. The viewers need to put themselves in the shoes of the residents.” said Ciarniello. “It is also an agriculture area, where they already have to control weeds.”
People who would like to observe bears in a safe and responsible manner should turn to a reputable company.
“If people want to view bears without hurting them, they should go to a commercial bear-viewing operation,” said Ciarniello. “This is a threatened unit. People are doing a lot more damage than good.”
