Great news for anyone wanting to see bears! Porridge and
picnics aside, if you go down to the woods around Whistler, it should come as
little surprise if you meet a bear. A population of 50 – 70 Black Bears live in
the Whistler region and there is also the possibility of running into Grizzly
Bears, making Whistler an excellent spot for a little bear watching.
Bears are very
much locals around this neck of the woods. The town rubbish bins are
‘bear-proof’ requiring users to pull a handle to open the bin. There are also
warning signs explaining to conceal food smells, avoid attracting bears, and even how to behave should you find yourself face-to-face with a bear - scary thought!
You
can sign up for local tour companies to take you on Bear watching excursions in
small four-wheel-drive vehicles, or you can just as easily drive yourself
around Whistler and see who you meet. You may get lucky and happen upon a few
bears during your visit to Whistler (if you do, stay inside your car and keep a
safe distance), but if you don’t there are plenty of tours that know where the
bears enjoy hanging out. In fact, this is one of those occasions where it is
probably better to go with a local group; it saves you time looking for the
bears and, of course, there is safety in numbers!
The tour group I
joined collected me from my accommodation and I got to sit in the front seat of
the jeep (which for a keen photographer was great news as I was able to control
my window!) Having picked up a few others we headed out of town to a road where
our guide had seen bears that morning.
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| Black Bear, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada |
As we drove the
guide explained the rules around seeing the bears. For both our safety and that
of the bears, we were asked to remain in the car at all times and not feed the
bears. If they learn not to fear humans, and / or associate them with food, the
bears are more likely to approach urban areas and, once bears become known to
visit town, they are often euthanised to avoid clashes between the local human
and bear populations.
As we cruised
along the road at a gentle pace I suddenly realised I could see a bear up ahead. I
indicated the bear to the other passengers of the car with excited yelps of
“Bear! Bear! Bear!” as I scrabbled to get the lens off my camera. We were told
this bear (immediately above) was probably around three years old, based on his
size. Apparently the only way to tell is to saw their teeth in half (after they
have died) and count the rings, like trees.
After a little
time spent pulled off the highway, and with more cars continuously joining us,
we hit the road again to see who else was about. It wasn’t long before we
spotted another bear munching his way along the roadside. Amusingly our second
bear also marched straight at a young sapling, which he then walked straight
across and used to scratch his tummy. How very Baloo!
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| (Brown) Black Bear, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada |
Having come to
the end of the road, our guide turned the car around and we saw a third (and
far larger) bear near our first but on the other side of the road. This bear
was much browner in colour than the other two but we were assured it was still
technically a ‘Black Bear’.
I would have been
happy just to see one wild bear in Whistler, but seeing three going about their
business in their natural habitat was incredible. Another tour group informed
us they had seen a mother and cubs as well on the same day so we were unlucky
to have missed them. Still, our tour was great. We learned so much about the
bears from our tour guide, who took us right to the bears’ current location,
and we took some great photos.
Have you ever
been bear-watching? Where did you do it, and would you recommend it?
