Bear, cougar sightings more common in Calgary as city sprawls into wildlife territory

What would you do if you saw a bear, cougar or moose in your backyard? It’s become more common for Calgarians in recent years and one expert says the reason, in part, is because the city is coming to the animals.

As Calgary’s human population continues to multiply, it’s borders are becoming less defined and encroaching onto wildlife territory.

Scottie Potter with the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) says each year they are experiencing an increased demand for services.

“The majority of our patients come from Calgary and we do end up seeing a lot of animals who’ve been impacted by human conflict in some way,” she says. “These animals were here first and we kind of showed up later.”

Potter says it’s on residents to be responsible and good neighbours to the animals, including doing things like storing waste effectively and keeping pets on leashes.

“That’s how we can reduce that conflict,” she says.

On Wednesday, Alberta Fish and Wildlife confirmed they euthanized a “food-conditioned” black bear in southwest Calgary. The agency says the bear had been spotted several times eating from compost, garbage bins and fruit trees in the area.

It’s something Potter says is unfortunate, but not at all surprising.

“The number one way in which bears lose that natural fear of people is when they start associating human spaces with food,” she says. “That can potentially lead to a bear becoming dangerous towards people, because they’ve lost that fear.”

The AIWC currently have an orphaned bobcat kitten in their care, which Potter says is rare in itself.

“At that age, if a mom isn’t coming and regularly visiting a kitten, then that kitten is not going to survive,” says Potter.

She says its the first time in around 10 years that the institute has had a bobcat in their care.

The recent black bear sightings in the city’s southwest prompted Fish and Wildlife officers to set up traps and temporarily close some areas of the park.

In September, Alberta Parks issued a warning after reports of a young cougar roaming in Fish Creek park.

Earlier the same month, a family who lives near Spruce Meadows had a close encounter with a cougar that left one of their pets dead and another missing.