Study: Popularity of roadside bear viewing impacts bears and humans

A picture showing numerous photographers on the side of a road, taking pictures of nearby grizzly bears.
A "bear jam" created by visitors and tourists stopping on an Alberta roadside to photograph grizzly bears (Ursus americanus horribilis).
Photo by John E. Marriott / WildernessPrints.com.

By Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin

Pumphrey A. & Meletis, Z.A. (2023) Kananaskis country’s road to coexistence: exploring expert perceptions of roadside bear viewing and management strategies. Frontiers in Conservation Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2023.1165314

The growing popularity of “roadside bear viewing” among protected area and park visitors can pose serious risks to both humans and bears. Using Peter Lougheed Provincial Park (PLPP) in Kananaskis, Alberta as a case study, this article explores management strategies, risks, and human behaviour in the context of roadside bear viewing. 

While wildlife tourism creates economic opportunities, increased park visits put pressure on wildlife and will continue to do so given the growing popularity of visits to national parks across Canada (and the USA). Bears, in particular, are often found foraging roadside, creating an opportunity for visitors to view bears in their natural habitat, but this also creates situations of human-wildlife conflict and can impact both human and bear safety.

A family of grizzly bears quickly walk through a bear jam created by photographers at the edge of a road.
Photo by Wirestock / Getty Images

The term “bear jam” describes “traffic congestion caused by people stopping or slowing down in a vehicle to view bears” and presents  a significant management issue in the PLPP.

This research project aimed to understand “how park staff and local experts experience, perceive, and understand roadside bear viewing and related risks in PLPP”. Experts interviewed included: conservation officers, bear technicians, ecologists/biologists, education/outreach Park staff, and members of local non-profit organizations, and represented both scientific and local perspectives and expertise. 

Perceived causes of bear jams

This research revealed three categories of causes of bear jams: 1) humans 2) habitat, and 3) infrastructure. 

Human-related causes include:

  • Visitors acting without common sense (e.g. leaving their cars, getting too close to bears, feeding bears, harassing a bear for a photo)
  • Visitors being driven by exceptionals (e.g. wildlife photographers)
  • Herd mentality
  • Visitors seeking intimate wildlife encounters 
  • Visitors acting without knowledge of appropriate behaviour around wildlife 

Habitat-related causes include:

  • Bear behaviour (e.g. sows using roadside corridors to protect cubs from boars)
  • Bear foraging patterns (e.g. the presence of vegetation alongside roads)

Infrastructure-related causes

  • Lack of shoulders, passing lanes, and pull-outs force visitors into bear jams
  • Landscape features (e.g. tight corridors and highly vegetated areas)

Risks to bears and humans

Research participants expressed that there are more risks to bears than humans in these situations.

Bear-related risks include: 

  • Disturbing their natural foraging behaviour and pushing bears away from natural habitat
  • Vehicle collisions or strikes causing injury or killing bears
  • Potentially breaking up bear families
  • Habituation to humans, which can lead to relocating or destroying bears
  • Negatively impacting bear movement patterns

 However, some human-related risks include:

  • Humans being hit by cars while outside their vehicle (and the potential of being injured by a bear)
  • Emergency responders being stuck in a bear jam
  • Stress on park staff due to increased bear jams (due to staffing and resource challenges), and potential emotional distress caused by bear relocation or destruction

This research also highlights potential strategies for roadside bear viewing which includes a combination of human, bear, habitat, and infrastructure management strategies. 

Human management strategies outlined include:

  • Effective and increased education, outreach, and communication about bears, bear jams, and responsible roadside viewing
  • Enforcement to support tickets to visitors who demonstrate unacceptable behaviour around bears such as feeding and approaching bears. Additionally participants expressed that there needs to be clearer definitions of ‘harassment’ in current park policies and legislation, as well as clarifications around maximum viewing distances

Habitat management strategies include: 

  • The removal of desirable forage for bears roadside
  • Enhanced bear habitat and forage away from roads and human presence

Infrastructure management strategies include:

  • Better road infrastructure in the form of pull-outs or lanes that would decrease bear jams and encourage more responsible roadside bear viewing or no-stopping zones, as well as more wildlife passages; wildlife fencing may be an option but could pose a risk to natural habitat use and movement
  • Better and safer viewing opportunities like viewing decks 
  • Electric signage and seasonal messaging 

What is clear from this research is that as a park visitor, we have a responsibility to keep wildlife safe. 

While bear viewing is exciting and provides an opportunity to foster stewardship among park visitors, as well as increased tourism, roadside bear viewing and resulting bear jams can negatively impact both bears and humans. 

So if you come across a bear, foraging on the roadside, during your time in the parks this summer, slow down for safety and a peak, but keep moving! 

About Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin
Dr. Valli Fraser-Celin holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Guelph where she studied human-African wild dog conflict and conservation in Botswana, Africa. Valli has always been interested in the human dimensions of wildlife, in particular, humans’ relationships with large carnivores, she collaborated with the Fur-Bearers on a research project exploring Canadians’ perceptions of and knowledge about wolves. Valli is also passionate about dogs, and advocates for dog welfare through her Instagram @thelivesofwilddogs. In her spare time, she runs a pet pantry at her local community centre for pet guardians experiencing pet food insecurity.

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