It’s berry season so beware of increased bear activity in Alberta

WATCH ABOVE: Carolyn Kury de Castillo has more now on the latest bear encounters this weekend.

CALGARY – With fall fast approaching, people are being reminded to be aware of increased bear activity in our province.

Two men were injured in a bear attack northwest of Cochrane Saturday night and west of Calgary, residents of Lac Des Arcs are being warned about bears roaming in their backyards.

It’s berry season and for Lac Des Arcs resident Mark Shalom, that means sharing his backyard with bears.

“They were in our yard just eating berries. That one and another one (pointing to bears) just walking down the main road towards the highway,” Mark said. “They were quite young so they were almost playful but they’re not overly concerned about humans,” Shalom said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They were in our yard just eating berries. That one and another one (pointing to bears) just walking down the main road towards the highway," Mark said. "They were quite young so they were almost playful but they're not overly concerned about humans," Shalom said.

People living in the hamlet of East of Canmore reported seeing a bear trap set up at a work site earlier this week. One viewer says he saw a cub caught in it on Friday.

“I know that the wildlife guys see if they are at all habituated by people, that’s a problem. They should be scared of us. They are being proactive.”

There’s lots of kids living in the area, so being proactive is key before there’s an encounter.

On Saturday evening north west of Cochrane two men were injured in  a bear attack. A quad rider  and another man on a motocross bike encountered two cubs.

According to Alberta Fish and Wildlife, the mother grizzly then attacked the two riders until one of the men was able to pepper spray the bear. The two then got out on the quad and went in search of help.

“We were presented with  an adult male believed to be in his 50’s, he was suffering luckily  from just some minor soft tissue wounds. Prior to the arrival of ground paramedics, STARS Air Ambulance did land and was in the midst of transporting a adult male as well,” Adam Loria with Calgary EMS said. “The men were able to  make it to an area where they were able to call for emergency medical services and other crews.”

“In this case, bear spray may have helped mitigate any more serious injury or escalated the situation. Anyone that is planning on going to the back country should be prepared, let someone know where you area going and when you will be back. Always beneficial to travel with at least one other person, so you can look after each other. Be prepared with the essentials, whether that is bear spray always beneficial to carry a first aid kit,” Loria said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "In this case, bear spray may have helped mitigate any more serious injury or escalated the situation. Anyone that is planning on going to the back country should be prepared, let someone know where you area going and when you will be back. Always beneficial to travel with at least one other person, so you can look after each other. Be prepared with the essentials, whether that is bear spray always beneficial to carry a first aid kit," Loria said.

At the Heart Creek Trailhead  just across the highway from Lac Des Arcs, hikers were heading out Sunday wearing bear bells, mindful of the signs that warn them of the wildlife they  might see.

“When I’m usually backpacking I carry a whistle and store our food high or use those bear cans if were staying overnight and stay together as a group,” said hiker Kevin You.

“I’m not as concerned because there seems to be a lot of people around so as they say it’s always so it’s safer in numbers and making noise that keeps the bears away hopefully,” said hiker Leonard Sidloski.

As for people who live in bear territory, they’re thankful for the removal of habituated bears, but for the most part relations are good with their neighbours.

“Never been a problem. There was a grizzly here last year and it was the same, he just wander through looked at us and ate the berries but he was never a problem,” Shalom said.