Opal Hills closed to hikers following encounters

Parks Canada has closed the Opal Hills trail near Maligne Lake after reports that a grizzly bear bluff-charged two groups of hikers last week.

According to wildlife conflict specialist Wes Bradford, the first encounter was with a group of 10 hikers who saw the bear on the trail July 8 around 4 p.m.

The grizzly allegedly charged to within 50m of the group, though few details were recorded because the incident was not reported until late that night when few Parks staff were on hand to collect the information.

The following day at about the same time, a UK pair was hiking on the same trail when they saw the bear about 300m up-slope from them.

“They were paranoid of bears,” Bradford said. “Being from England, not very experienced and hearing lots of horror stories, they thought better be careful.”

They kept their distance but stuck around to watch and take photographs as the grizzly darted diagonally through the brush.

Because of its behaviour, they believed it caught their scent and was stalking them, when the bear suddenly raced 20 or 30 steps in their direction and stopped about 200m from them. Terrified, the hikers turned and ran.

Based on their tale, Bradford figured the animal was likely hunting ground squirrels and came to a halt when it caught one.

“That would really be a bear’s mode, hunting ground squirrels,” he said. “It would run down, then stand up and try to have a look, and it’s pretty startling for a lot of people.”

This isn’t the first time a grizzly’s been spotted on the Opal Hills trail.

“It’s the same bear we’ve been dealing with the past number of years,” he said. “That bear will be in the area for about the next month as it travels up and down the trail and hunts ground squirrels. I don’t think in that situation the hikers were in danger at all.”

Though the second encounter may not have been a bluff-charge, Bradford said Parks closed the trail to err on the side of caution for people and animals alike.

“Bears need their space, that’s what national parks are all about,” he said. “They’re one of our large, top predators, they are in trouble in other parts of the world and we should try to give them all the protection we can.”

Bradford said everyone and especially visitors should read the Bears and People booklet and be prepared for wildlife encounters.

“I’m a big believer in bear spray,” he said. “And get an idea how to react in different situations and be a little bit informed about where you’re going and what you’re doing.”