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By Shane Clausing

Peace Region trails

Area hikers reminded to take precautions with wildlife re-emerging

Jun 3, 2020 | 2:05 PM

With the official start of summer only a few weeks away, many hikers in the Peace Region are starting to take to area trails.

Mike Grepanier with the Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Branch for the Northwest Region is reminding hikers to make sure that they take the proper precautions before heading out onto the trails.

“Obviously, it’s summertime and bears are out, and you should be prepared when you’re hiking. We recommend they carry bear spray with them and in general just always be aware of your environment and your surroundings.”

Grepanier says the sightings for animals like bears have decreased this year and it’s hard to say exactly why that is.

“Weather is usually a factor. If we wanted to speak about bears, this spring there was still a lot of crops laying on the ground from last fall that weren’t harvested, and bears found those areas for food sources.”

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“As far as for us, the level of conflicts have decreased probably because of those factors and as far as people hiking, I don’t think earlier this spring there was a lot of activity as far as people getting out, obviously due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I think those factors are why we haven’t seen those encounters.”

Alberta Fish and Wildlife says that if you do come in contact with an animal like a bear, you should not report it to Fish and Wildlife unless they target you or use any defensive moves

If they do try to attack, you should report it to Fish and Wildlife, so they can take the extra precautions and temporarily shut down what could be a dangerous area for a few days.

While bear sightings are down, Grepanier says that June is the time of year where moose calves and deer fawns are being born and it’s important to be careful around them.

“We get lots of calls that people feel like they’ve been orphaned and in a lot of cases that’s not what’s happening. Moose calves and deer fawns are normally left by themselves from their mothers and that’s normal.”

“Just for people to leave things as they are and not to disturb those fawns or calves, the mothers not far away even though they don’t see the mother. Be aware of that and not interject and they aren’t as orphaned as you think they are.”