Grizzly bears will be fitted with radio collars so gun-carrying security forces can avoid a deadly encounter while patrolling the woods during the G-8 summit next month in Kananaskis Country.
The federal government has given Alberta Fish and Wildlife an undisclosed amount of money to allow the province to fit about half a dozen grizzlies with radio collars.
However, the money is only enough to allow researchers to monitor the animals until they make their way into their dens for hibernation this fall, even though the lifespan of a radio collar is four to five years.
Bow Valley Grizzly Bear Alliance co-ordinator Jeff Gailus said walking away from monitoring after six months raises serious ethical questions given the stress the animals go through when trapped, drugged and collared.
"If you're going to put collars on bears, you're ethically obliged to monitor the bears for the life of the collar. The only reason to monitor them is to gather information so we can figure out how we can put less stress on the population and allow them to persist,'' said Gailus.
"Any wildlife biologist would tell you they would rather not have to collar animals. . . . If you're going to put them through that, you damn well better get as much information as possible.''
Provincial biologists and Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project researcher Mike Gibeau plan to start trapping grizzlies in Kananaskis Valley, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and the Spray Valley any day now. They had been waiting for the recent snowy weather to lift.
The signals from the bears' radio collars are picked up from the air, usually by a helicopter or airplane flying over the area.
Last summer, there were an estimated seven grizzlies using the mid-Kananaskis Valley region as part of their home range, including one bear that regularly travelled the pathways below the village.
At one point, there were five grizzlies, including a sow and her two cubs, hanging out by the Nakiska ski resort, just a short distance from the village where the world's most powerful leaders will meet for the G-8 summit June 26 and 27.
G-8 environmental affairs director Bruce Leeson said summit officials could take the necessary action to avoid a confrontation if they know where the grizzly bears are.
"We know the grizzly bear is one of the most sensitive species in the Kananaskis Valley, and we would like to know where they are and what they're doing so we can keep out of their way,'' said Leeson.
"We're doing this for the benefit of the bears and for the benefit of our own staff. It minimizes the stress on the wildlife and safeguards our own people.''
Alberta Fish and Wildlife biologist Jon Jorgenson said as many bears as possible would be captured, including some that have older collars in need of replacement. Female bears will be a priority.
Cathy Ellis is a reporter for the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
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