For three summers, Scarface ruled an idyllic corner of the Callaghan Valley, hard to miss with his distinctive battle marks across his eyes and nose. True to his name, Scarface was tough, with a mean streak. And, even though he was smaller than most adult bears, he loved to fight, typically coming out the victor.
Jason Coleman photographs and studies the black bears in an area of the Callaghan Valley where he conducts his Whistler Photo Safari tours. He admits he didn’t start out naming the bears, not wanting to anthropomorphize them, which makes them seem more human and less dangerous.
The names, however, are a way of following the unique behaviours and character traits. Elvis, for example, like Scarface, was king of Whistler Olympic Park for a while. The first bear he mated with was naturally Priscilla. Ruby, Priscilla’s sister, had a heart-shape white patch on her chest which made her easy to spot. And so on.
Quite simply, bears are a fascinating study; it’s why we continue to be enthralled by them...even in Whistler, where black bears nonchalantly wandering through neighbourhoods is an everyday occurrence.
And so, it begs the question: What is it about black bears that captivates us so much?
Coleman, who studied behavioural science at Harvard University, points to several factors. These animals are powerful, wild creatures, capable of great destruction. And yet, they often don’t engage like this.
“You’re constantly amazed at the power they have and the choice not to exercise it,” he says.
Despite this palpable power, it’s easy to feel a kinship with bears—they are intelligent; they are great problem-solvers, able to figure out a simple handle on a garbage bin or a door knob; and, the mother/cub relationship is particularly protective. In those contexts, humans relate to bears.
It also helps that they’re really cute. “They look like something you should cuddle,” admits Coleman. But don’t.
Scarface was a dominant male black bear who killed a lot of cubs. Known as ‘infanticide,’ it’s not uncommon behaviour. That’s just one more fascinating behavioural trait of these amazing animals that call Whistler home. Just as Coleman has seen Scarface kill cubs, he has also seen mothers go to great lengths to protect their young.
And, just as he has seen bears get “painfully underweight” when food is scarce, he has also seen them remarkably adapt to their changing environment such as the recent summer heat domes.
He knows what they do when they’re stressed and he can tell you what it means when a female bear continually looks back one way into a forest. (She is a mother and there’s a cub in there). And that’s just in this small area around Whistler Olympic Park, home to roughly 50 to 60 resident bears on any given year.
“(The count) is by no means exhaustive or official but no one is in there like we are,” says Coleman.
Coleman’s tours are typically in the Callaghan Valley five days a week, with several tours per day. One of the reasons why Coleman started his bear- viewing tours was to teach people about black bears and how to co-exist with them.
“If you come on our tour,” says Coleman, “you will know a whole different set of skills (when it’s over) and have confidence for how to behave in the wilderness.”
For Whistler’s environmental organization, AWARE, bear tours are the preferred way for guests to view and learn about the animals, hopefully cutting down on the number of amateur bear viewers who stop along the highway at any given time. This isn’t good for bears, nor is it safe for humans.
“If people are going to bear view, we want them to be on a tour,” says Claire Ruddy, executive director of the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE). “There’s some kind of accountability there.”
Now, more than ever, as Whistler’s summer visitors are making the most of the surrounding backcountry and venturing further afield, it’s becoming more and more crucial to co-exist with bears, knowing how to behave for both the bears’ and humans’ safety.
TOP TIPS TO KEEP BEARS WILD AND PEOPLE SAFE
AWARE has created easy-to-follow tips for being an EcoCitizen, among them ways for keeping bears wild and people safe.
Check out awarewhistler.org for more info. In the meantime, take these tips to heart when you’re visiting, living and recreating in bear country.
“A fed bear is way more likely to be a dead bear if they come in contact with humans multiple times,” says Ruddy.
Remember:
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Don’t leave garbage or recycling (no
matter how clean), outside.
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When you see a bear, keep your distance
and give it space.
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Keep BBQs clean. Bears can climb decks.
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Carry bear spray. And know how to use it!
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Keep dogs on leash in the backcountry.
More than half the bear attacks on people in B.C. are caused by off-leash dogs.
GRIZZLIES LIVE IN WHISTLER TOO
Whistler is also home to grizzly bears, who are less tolerant of human behaviour and tend to avoid human conflict. In 2021, the Resort Municipality of Whistler closed several trails in the Rainbow Lake and Mount Sproatt network due to grizzly sightings.
Located on the west side of the Valley, the closure aligned with Whistler’s Human-Grizzly Bear Conflict Mitigation Strategy. Johnny Mikes, with the Coast to Cascades Grizzly Bear Initiative, encourages everyone to respect those trail closures when they happen. He is encouraged to see the grizzly population rebounding in that particular area.
“The numbers are coming back, which is great to see,” says Mikes.
Grizzly populations south and east of Whistler aren’t faring as well. Grizzlies now occupy just two per cent of their historical range in the continental United States. Where once they roamed as far south as central Mexico, now southwest B.C. is their southernmost habitat.
Check out coasttocascades.org for more info on protecting grizzly bears in B.C.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of Whistler Magazine.
