Kananaskis Country generally, and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park in particular, has a significant wildlife population. Many people come to K-Country to see wildlife, and a lot of wildlife is visible without even getting out of your car. But responsible viewing of wildlife is critical, especially when wildlife is roadside. Many animals are killed by vehicles on roads in K-Country each year.
Improper behaviour on your part around roadside wildlife can have negative impacts on them. Stopping next to wildlife, and Bears in particular, is bad for the them. It tells them that those big metal objects on the road are not dangerous (they are). It conditions the wildlife to not be afraid of things that are close to them, which they should be. Wildlife is just trying to move or feed, and you risk pushing them off their food, or cause them to spend extra energy.
Here are our tips and tricks to help you (and the wildlife) have good encounters.
If you see wildlife roadside
- Put your hazard lights on. This alerts and warns others.
- SLOW DOWN. Any wildlife can move unpredictably. Deer, Bears and other wildlife can suddenly bound across the highway.
- Do NOT stop within 100 m of ANY wildlife.
- NEVER feed any roadside wildlife.
- ALWAYS stay in your vehicle.
- Obey all roadside signage, including temporary and electronic signage.
In all cases, obey the instructions of Parks Staff if they are present. The Staff are focused on the safety of you and the animals. Note that if you’re not willing to move away from roadside wildlife when instructed, Staff are charged with moving the wildlife away from you. Conservation Officers also issue tickets for illegal parking and other infractions.
Parks Staff may be parked roadside with yellow, or red and blue, flashing lights. By law, you must slow to 60 km/hr (30 km/hr on the KLT) passing a vehicle with flashing lights. Take this as a cue that roadside wildlife is close by. You cannot stop between the Staff and the wildlife.
Wildlife ON the road
Some wildlife, like Bighorn Sheep, Moose or even Mountain Goats, can be on the road and will not move despite your vehicle being there. If you stop, you create traffic jams and increase the risk of accidents between you and other vehicles, and between other vehicles and the wildlife when those vehicles try to go around you. For Sheep, they’ll often stay on the road for a while. For Moose, they usually don’t stay on the road long. Just drive past Sheep, Moose and Goats very slowly, preferably behind them if you can.
If Bears are on the road, or crossing the road itself:
- PLEASE DO stop. Do NOT try to drive by them. Sit still and wait until they cross the road and get off the pavement.
- If there is a Bear family on or beside the road, NEVER drive between mom and the cubs. Stop. Watch and let them ALL cross before trying to get by. Enjoy the spectacle from the safety of your vehicle.
Stopping to view
If you want to stop to get a better picture, or just to observe roadside wildlife for a moment:
- Stop at least 100 m away from bears, always.
- If there’s a roadside pullout, use it! Roadside pullouts offer you a safe way to stop on the highways.
- In all cases, do NOT stay more than a minute or two. Get your pictures and slowly move on. Do NOT spend hours 100 m from roadside bears. That’s wildlife harassment and won’t be tolerated.
- If the wildlife moves closer to you, and makes it so you’re closer than 100 m away, take that as a signal to move on slowly. Do NOT back up down highways!
- Are bears moving towards you on the road itself? If they get closer than 100 m, see the advice above. If they are close to the pavement but not on it, take that as a signal to move on slowly.
- Stay in your car. NEVER get out, even for Sheep or Moose.
- NEVER stop next to a guardrail.
- On Hwy 40, stop well off the road. Stopping on the highway shoulder is illegal except in emergencies. Stopping in the ditch is also illegal and can be enforced, by the way.
- On 742, pull over as close to the road edge as possible.
- NEVER stop on Kananaskis Lake Trail (“KLT”). The road is simply too narrow, has no shoulders and poor sightlines, and no ditch to pull off into. This is why it’s illegal to stop anywhere on the KLT – unless a Bear or Moose is physically blocking the road.
- If other cars are parked, do NOT join them. Bear Jams – where multiple cars are parked on highways because of bears roadside – are bad and dangerous. Don’t start one, and don’t make one bigger. Just because others are parked does not mean it is OK for you to park as well.
On a bicycle?
All of the above assumes you’re in a vehicle. If you’re on a bike, the advice is slightly different. If you see wildlife:
- If Bears are on the road, STOP 100 m away. Stay 100 m away, riding away as necessary. Do not proceed until the Bears move onto the shoulder.
- SLOW DOWN to a pace about the speed of walking.
- Get your Bear Spray ready.
- Ride on the opposite shoulder of the road to the side the wildlife is on. Cross if necessary.
- If you’re with a group, get the group together. Keep less than a bike length between each rider.
- Ride slowly and continuously past the wildlife. DO NOT STOP within 100 m of the wildlife.
- Talk to the wildlife continuously. It doesn’t matter what you say. Just be loud enough that the wildlife can hear you.
- Watch the wildlife, and be aware if the wildlife starts to move towards you. If this happens, do NOT speed up; wildlife can run faster than you can ride. Take out your Bear Spray and be ready to use it. Keep moving, but keep an eye on that wildlife. If they charge, stop, get off your bike, and use your Bear Spray.
- When you’re 100 m past the wildlife, you can return to the correct side of the road and continue riding as normal.
What to report
Call the following into Kananaskis Dispatch at 403-591-7755:
- All Bear Jams. See cars parked next to bears? Call these in while they are happening, if possible. Report them to an Info Centre as soon as you can if you have no cell service. You do not need to report jams created by herds of Sheep blocking the road.
- All sightings of roadside carnivores (Bears, Wolves, Cougars), or carnivores in Day Use Areas or Campgrounds. Note that you can report wildlife to Campground Hosts, who all have radios.
- All sightings of aggressive behaviour of any animal. If a Sheep or Elk charges a vehicle, call that in.
- All sightings of deceased animals visible from the road.
Help us be a success story
Remember that K-Country’s roads (and Highway 40 in particular) carry industrial traffic and folks NOT interested in seeing or stopping for wildlife. Not everyone in every vehicle is as excited to see that Bear as you are. Some are trying to get somewhere and aren’t interested in slowing down that much. Drive predictably and safely, and watch out for other vehicles that are driving erratically.
Kananaskis is a success story of Bear management. Conservation Officers, Bear Technicians and Bear Telemetry Volunteers patrol Highways 40 & 742, and the KLT, every day during the summer to monitor and protect wildlife, and Bears in particular. They are charged with breaking up Bear and Wildlife Jams, preventing people from stopping next to Bears, monitoring roadside Bears, and ensuring that Bears and people can successfully coexist in the Parks.
You can read about how Parks Canada manages roadside wildlife viewing in the National Parks here.
Meet some of the animals you can find in K-Country here.