(Kerry Wood Nature Centre)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

stay away

Black bear sighting in Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary

May 4, 2023 | 11:41 AM

A black bear has been seen within Red Deer’s Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary, located behind the Kerry Wood Nature Centre.

The four kilometre Wishart Trail, which recently reopened, is closed until further notice. Currently, the Dr. George Trail remains open.

The public is reminded not to approach wildlife and to stay clear of that area until the trail is open. Alberta Fish and Wildlife have been notified and staff from the Kerry Wood Nature Centre are monitoring the situation, according to The City of Red Deer.

Call The Kerry Wood Nature Centre at 403-346-2010 or follow them on Facebook for up-to-date information.

Meantime, Todd Nivens, Waskasoo Environmental Education Society Executive Director, says while this is certainly a rare occurrence, the surprise isn’t necessarily in the fact that there’s a bear present.

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“I’m of the mind that there’s wildlife around us we never see. We live on a wildlife corridor with the river and heavily vegetated riverbank. For that reason, I think the surprise is actually that we’re seeing a bear,” he says.

“Bears and other animals are under threat from habitat encroachment, so this bear has potentially wandered in from the west, looking to just be away from people. There have been unconfirmed sightings in the Maskepetoon and Heritage Ranch areas, and now here where it’s been actually confirmed, so there are places with hundreds of acres where a bear could hide out.”

The sighting at Gaetz Lakes happened around 9 a.m. Thursday morning (May 4), and Nivens says the photo provided is clear as day that it’s in fact an adult bear.

Fortunately, Nivens says, there haven’t been stories indicating this bear is roaming residential neighbourhoods, which the sanctuary abuts. Therefore, he believes it likelier the bear will go deeper into the sanctuary if given the time, as opposed to leaving its limits.

Nivens shares that Fish and Wildlife are considering setting up live traps with the hopes of possibly relocating the bear, which was seen near where the slump on the sanctuary’s east side used to be, which had closed to trail for several months before reopening recently. But for now, it’s possible the bear is allowed a chance to move on, on it’s own, he adds.

Niven’s best advice: stay the heck away, and for good reason.

“Every time there’s some sort of interesting wildlife around, especially macro-fauna like deer, moose, bears, or coyotes, stay away from them. A bear in the woods isn’t in and of itself dangerous; the bear is dangerous when people start interacting with it,” he explains.

“Bears are unpredictable. You don’t want to go in and find it’s taken an interest in you, because that becomes dangerous for you and the bear, and problem bears get dealt with differently.”

He does say residents shouldn’t be discouraged from using other trails and park nodes around the city.

rdnewsNOW has reached out to Fish and Wildlife for more details on what they’re doing.

For more information on how to stay safe around wildlife, especially bears, visit https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-bearsmart.asp.