History of Bears
Last Review/Updated: May 24, 2002
"A few days after, as two of them were hunting (they always went by two) they met a colored Bear, which one of them wounded, the Bear sprung on him, and standing on his hind feet seized the Iroquois hugging him with his forelegs and paws, which broke the bones of both arms above the elbow and with its teeth tore the skin of the head from the crown to the forehead, for the poor fellow had drawn his knife to defend himself, but could not use it; fortunately his comrade was near, and putting his gun close to the Bear shot him dead. The poor fellow was a sad figure, none of us were surgeons, but we did the best we could, but for want of proper bandaging his arms were three months in getting well."
—David Thompson, David Thompson's Narrative
Because of religious taboos, and difficulty in hunting such large and potentially dangerous animals, native Indians killed few bears prior to the coming of Europeans. The grizzly was particularly abundant along major river systems in the west where open grasslands and semiforested habitats were rich in berry plants, carcasses of drowned bison and small mammals. In much of the prairies and open foothills east of the Rocky Mountains, the grizzly was more common than the black bear.
Journals kept by the first fur scouts and explorers to the Canadian west include many entries about grizzly bears. Henry Kelsey reached the western plains in 1691 and wrote of "a great sor[t] of Bear w[hich] is Bigger then any white Bear is Neither White nor Black But silver hair'd like our English Rabbit." Anthony Henday, possibly the first European to enter what is now Alberta in 1754, described a case of "Two Young Men miserably tore by a Grizzly Bear whom they had wounded." David Thompson, who explored much of western Canada during the late 1700s and early 1800s, made several references to grizzly bears. He observed them along the Bow and South Saskatchewan rivers, near Fort Augustus (now Fort Saskatchewan), at the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan rivers (near Rocky Mountain House), and along the Athabasca River. In 1779, somewhere along the South Saskatchewan River near present day Medicine Hat, two men of Thompson's party were killed and one was injured by a grizzly. Alexander Henry reported the great bears to be so numerous near Rocky Mountain House that on one occasion a hunter was able to utilize the meat of only three of five "buffalo" he had shot before grizzlies devoured the other two.
During the 1800s, increasing numbers of fur traders, explorers and settlers, armed with improved firearms, began the demise of bears throughout the southeastern parklands and the foothills of southwestern Alberta. Grizzlies were shot because of the danger they represented, as well as for sport and their hides. The Palliser Expedition still noted several grizzlies in the southeast in 1859, but few early surveying and exploring parties passed up the chance to hunt them. By the 1880s, grizzlies were all but gone from their southern ranges in Alberta where they had been most numerous. In at least some northern areas, bears remained common into the latter periods of that century. In 1885, Achilles Daunt wrote of the abundance of black bear and grizzlies roaming the shores of Peace River.
Pia Nielsen in 1975 summarized the retreat of the grizzly bear in our province. For the early years of the 20th century, she noted a much reduced distribution restricted to the narrow western cordillera. With the exception of Waterton Lakes National Park, there were only a few sightings in the mountain habitats south of Calgary. The best occupied range existed in the forest of the Kakwa, Smoky and Wapiti rivers south of Grand Prairie. By the late 1940s, this population was reported to extend as far east as the Swan Hills. The grizzly's demise followed the pattern of land settlement. Early farmers, railroad workers, cattlemen, loggers and miners could not tolerate so large a carnivore, peaceful though it was when not surprised or injured. And so, the grizzly disappeared from much of Alberta.
Black bears fared somewhat better. Not common in southern Alberta, which had been the grizzly's domain, the black bear survived in the wildernesses of the north with fewer human activities. Bears were given legal protection in 1927, classified as a "fur-bearing animal" in 1928 and as "big game" in 1929. South of the 55th parallel, hunters were restricted to two bears per year, of which only one could be a grizzly. The legislation closed the bear hunting season from June 15 to September 1 and prohibited the taking of cubs and females with young at their side. This was the beginning of protection for bears on provincial lands in Alberta.
J. Gunson photo  Black bear 97, released in fall as a cub-of-the-year, denned and survived the winter on its own. |
According to annual reports of the department of Agriculture (then
responsible for wildlife management), bears became much more common
during the 1930s. The 1938-39 report noted:
"All kinds of bear may be found throughout the forested regions.
Pelts are so low in price, and difficulties of skinning too great to
warrant the effort, and it is evident that even the shy Grizzly is
slowly increasing in the quiet fastnesses where it is wont to roam."
This increase continued in the 1940s. The 1944 report observed:
"Bears have become very numerous in the province, particularly
is this so in connection with the black bear. Bears have increased
to such an extent as to become a menace to livestock, and numerous
complaints have been received throughout the year from livestock owners
. . ."
As a consequence, all legal protection for black bears was removed. Within the Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve, black bears were again afforded some protection beginning in 1947, but not until 1953 in the remainder of the province. Then, licences for spring bear hunting were introduced. However in the 1950s, the killing of bears of both species, legal or not, became common on settled lands. In addition, many bears were destroyed by poison baits that were left in the field following winter control exercises against wolves and coyotes. There is no question that bears in the western foothills and some northern habitats declined dramatically during this period.
By 1961, wildlife managers began to address the problem of indiscriminate killing of bears. Beginning that year, applications for permits to destroy nuisance bears were investigated and conditions were tightened. In 1971, hunting of grizzly bears was brought under greater control by elimination of the fall season and the initiation of compulsory registration of grizzly kills. During the 1970s to 1990s, populations of black bears and grizzlies responded to habitats improved by logging and other forest uses, and reduced kills.
