“For the bears”
Bear viewing can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and, for some, a life-changing experience. However, with these experiences comes great responsibility for tour operators, visitors, and those booking tours. Responsible viewing is as integral to the experience as the bears are.
As visitors’ interest in bear viewing grows, there is a need to increase the understanding of bears, their habitats, and their ecosystems and promote bear viewing through best practices and experiences that prioritize the well-being of bears.
Like our Marine Mammal Viewing Best Practices, we are grateful to the Commercial Bear Viewing Association and Raincoast Conservation Foundation for their expertise and knowledge of bears, habitats and behaviours, and Tourism Tofino and Destination Campbell River for their support and participation in this project.
“Research tells us that the relationship among bear activity, ecotourism, and food availability is complex. It also reminds us that we have an ethical responsibility to acknowledge potential impacts, and implement evidence-based practices to reduce any disruption that our actions can have on these sensitive animals. We encourage prospective clients to select an ecotourism operator committed to evidence–based and sustainable bear view practices that consider the behaviour, ecology, and wellbeing of bears.”
Chelsea Greer, Wildlife Biologist and Wolf Conservation Program Director, Raincoast Conservation Foundation
With Vancouver Island’s many rivers and estuaries, there is ample opportunity to see bears through a commercial operator or on your own. But, please remember, wherever you are viewing bears, respecting the animal and habitat is paramount.
What you need to know about bear viewing on Vancouver Island
Unlike marine mammal viewing, there are no legislated regulations for wildlife viewing in British Columbia. However, thanks to our friends at the Commercial Bear Viewing Association (CBVA), there is a set of best practices to follow that apply to commercially guided experiences but can also work when you see a bear on your own while travelling throughout the region.
When booking a commercial experience, ensure you speak to the operator about their practices and what you can expect from your experience. Below are the best practices from the industry association and adopted by the British Columbia government for their Commercial Bear Viewing Strategy.
Commercial Bear Viewing Association Best Practices
- Member companies will strive to meet the CBVA goal of safely viewing bears in a natural setting while minimizing impacts on them, and encourage the general public, other operators and film crews to do the same. An animal’s need to forage, rest, or travel should take precedence over viewing activities and guests desiring a closer look.
- Member companies can maintain safe and minimally disruptive interactions between humans and bears if a few guiding principles are followed:
- Bears must not get access to non-natural attractants, such as human food or garbage.
- People must respect bears “personal space” and never closely approach, crowd, pursue, or displace bears.
- People must be willing to tolerate some bears in close proximity but also must reinforce bears’ respect for human boundaries.
- People must behave in as predictable a manner as possible around bears.
- People must stay together as a group while viewing bears.
- People must allow time for wary or less tolerant bears to feed and otherwise exploit available resources free from humans or human activity.
- Although the individual circumstances of bear viewing are often dynamic, it is important for operators and their guides to follow some minimum standards during viewing that adhere to these principles.
The following outlines conditions on viewing that will help achieve these guiding principles:
Avoiding Food-Conditioning in Bears
- Every effort will be made to avoid food-conditioning of bears in and around bear viewing areas. Each operator also will institute measures to eliminate introduction of other attractants such as garbage and human waste into bear viewing areas.
- When it is necessary to carry food and beverages for longer outings, the food and any resulting garbage will be packed in air-tight or bear-proof containers and be kept with the guide at all times.
Minimizing Disturbance & Separation Distance
- Minimizing noise and movement while viewing bears helps limit disturbance to them.
- It may be advantageous to remain inconspicuous while watching bears from a long distance, but in most cases it is best to stay in the open where bears can see people and choose to avoid them if they wish.
- Spatial and temporal restrictions on human activity may be necessary at specific viewing sites to ensure that wary or less tolerant bears have access to important feeding sites.
- The distance at which bears allow people to approach varies significantly in different situations and between individual bears depending on their tolerance of people or level of habituation to human activity. Human behaviour also has a large impact on the distance at which a bear will negatively react to human presence. Bears use body language and vocalizations to communicate with each other and with humans. The better operators and guides understand these signals the more disturbance of bears can be avoided.
- In most bear viewing situations, guides will establish the distance between their group and the bear(s) they are attempting to watch. This distance will be dictated by a variety of factors including the movement, activity and behaviour of bears, the mode of viewing (e.g., boat versus land-based, fixed site versus roving), tides, weather, and the movement, activity and behaviour of other viewing groups at the site.
- Once a guide has established a group at a respectful location and distance from a bear that does not disturb it, the guide will let individual bears decide how close they choose to approach the group. In this way, the minimum separation distance between a group and a bear will largely depend on the comfort of each individual bear. However, guides will set acceptable boundaries for each bear and not allow them to approach any closer. This is particularly important if the bear approaches to try and assert dominance over a group or exhibits excessive curiosity about a group or their equipment.
Predictability
- Consistent use of the same site(s) makes human use more predictable for bears and can help minimize disturbance.
- Consistent and appropriate human response to bears minimizes the chance of dangerous surprise encounters.
- The daily timing of bear viewing is dependent on a number of factors including tides, weather, light conditions, the movement and activity of bears, and the comfort and motivation of guests. However,
- Guides will endeavour to be as predictable as possible in the daily timing of movements to and occupation of viewing sites. They will take guests to viewing sites at consistent times of the day and for a consistent length of time, as much as possible.
- Guides will ensure no bear viewing takes place before first light and after dark.
- Guides will minimize bear viewing in very poor visibility such as during heavy rain or fog.
Approaching a Bear
- Upon approach by a viewing group, a bear will check out the group to see what potential threat they pose. If it is comfortable with the group, then the bear should resume its normal activity with only occasional glances to monitor the group.
- At all times while approaching and viewing bears, guides will watch for behavioural signs indicating a bear is becoming nervous or stressed with the presence of the group, including:
- A pause in activity or regularly stopping what it is doing and looking directly at the group. Not a quick scan or glance, but a direct look before returning to what it was doing.
- A stiffening stance and change in body orientation.
- A yawn or scratch or other behaviour, like sitting down, apparently out of place.
- Moving into the bush and back out repeatedly.
- Appearing nervous and uncertain.
- Subtle teeth snapping or jaw popping.
- If a guide feels a bear is becoming stressed and the bear does not resume normal activity when the guide backs off with the group, then the guide will end the viewing session with that particular bear.
- Guides will be aware that if they continue to approach or crowd a stressed bear, it may show increased signs of distress, move off, or approach aggressively. In these situations, the guide has missed the early warning signs, disrupted a bear’s normal activity pattern, and had an impact on the bear, which is counter to the intent of bear viewing. These situations will be avoided at all times.
- The following are signs of increased stress or aggression in a bear:
- Rapid and conspicuous teeth snapping or jaw popping.
- Moaning or growling.
- Huffing or chuffing, which can escalate to rapid huffing.
- Pacing.
- Running away from or toward the group.
- Salivating; roaring and open-mouth jawing.
- Ears laid back.
- Stamping the ground or paw swatting.
- A hop charge.
- A running charge, which may or may not stop short of contact.
It is important to be aware of a bear’s behaviour, whether with a commercial operator and guide or on your own. Seeing a bear is an incredible experience, but we must always be aware of their behaviour to ensure the best encounter for the bear and us.
Some good resources to find out more information about being in bear country, certifications, and articles regarding the impacts of bear viewing are www.wildsafebc.ca, www.bearviewing.ca, and www.raincoast.org. See also:
Short et al 2024: https://www.raincoast.org/2024/08/complex-relationships-grizzly-ecotourism-salmon/
Field et al 2024: https://www.raincoast.org/2024/04/ecotourism-grizzly-activity-salmon-abundance/
