Looking for wildlife in Jasper National Park, after the fire

Arriving in Jasper in late June, I discovered a mountain town that relies almost exclusively on tourism. Shops sold souvenirs with stylised bears and elk. Outdoor stores offered wool and waterproof clothing for hiking where the weather can change every 10 minutes. And tour companies provided tempting ways to explore Canada’s largest national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

All that came to a sudden stop in mid-July, when wildfires forced 25,000 residents and visitors to flee. By the time the fires were brought under control, almost a third of Jasper’s buildings were destroyed.

What would become of this much loved, tourist-dependent town, many of us wondered from afar.

Fortunately, critical infrastructure was saved, as well as historical buildings including the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, the heritage railway station and the Jasper Park Information Centre, a rustic stone and timber structure built in 1914 in the architectural style found in many of Canada’s national parks.

But what about wildlife? Jasper National Park is known for its relatively easy viewing of some of Canada’s symbolic species such as bear, beaver, moose and mountain goat.

It was wildlife that brought me to Jasper, and specifically to Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, where it’s possible to golf with grizzlies. At least that’s how I thought of it, as I played the 18-hole golf course designed by Canada’s master golf architect Stanley Thompson.

With one eye on the ball, I kept my other eye on the fairways, looking for the mama grizzly bear with two cubs that staff told us about when we arrived that tranquil June morning. The greens were still wet with dew and wildfire was the last thing on our minds.

“We have a mama bear and two cubs,” a staffer named Peyton told us. Pulling out his phone, he showed me a photo. One of the cubs looked strikingly like a panda bear with its two-tone fur.

Another staffer, Adam, who moved here last winter from Australia’s Gold Coast, told me he’d seen grizzlies leap over the seven-foot fence on the golf course perimeter. “I’ve seen them climb over it like it’s not even there,” he grinned. “Even the cubs fly over it.”

What’s the protocol when golfing with grizzlies, I asked. If they’re in the way, staff call Parks Canada and they’ll send someone with a paintball gun to scare them off, said Peyton. “But they always come back, like 20 minutes later, to the same spot,” he chuckled.

The course straddles an important intersection of wildlife corridors, something that wasn’t known in the 1920s when it was conceived. And the green grass and turf is high in nutrients, making it a good food source for bears.

We didn’t see the grizzly family that day, but when news of the wildfire made international headlines, I immediately thought of those beautiful bears.

Just a week after the fire, when people were craving news from ground zero, Jasper National Park tweeted photos of Grizzly Bear 222, (possibly the same mother bear I saw photos of) and her cubs. They were alive!

“In the moments leading up to the most extreme wildfire activity on Wednesday July 24, 2024, Grizzly bear 222 and her two cubs tucked themselves into a wet spot by the Athabasca River,” read the tweet, noting the mother wears a collar with a GPS and could be tracked. “She looks like a very healthy grizzly bear right now. She has been eating a mix of berries and clover on the edge of the Jasper Park Lodge golf course.”

Other wildlife outsmarted the fire too. Ground squirrels and other rodents would have burrowed underground. And wolves were fast enough to outrun it. Park biologists track this apex predator with satellite collars and report that during the fire, the Sunwapta pack climbed out of the valley they were in and headed for Marmot Basin, where Jasper’s ski resort is located, then followed by the fire back down the valley.

But even though wild animals are here, many parts of the park are still closed and images of burnt trees are making it a challenge for tour operators to bring back visitors.

At least one — SunDog Tours — is taking advantage of the situation and offering a new tour called Wonders of Jasper and the Ecology of Fire. “The regenerative effects of fire on old-growth forest and the abundant wildlife that continue to reside here is fascinating,” states the company’s website.

“To witness, firsthand, the resilience and adaptability of our animals, and the ecological rebirth of some of the most iconic landscapes in the Canadian Rockies is a rare and exceptional opportunity.”

On our evening tour with SunDog in June, we learned that elk can often be seen right in the town of Jasper and recent photos show that’s still the case. “They have managed to figure out that wherever we are, there happens to be no predators. So, it’s not uncommon to open your door and find an elk sitting in your front yard,” said Gareth, our guide.

We also learned that elk can be very dangerous — the females when they have calves — and the males during the fall rut, which is happening now through the end of October.

And beware of any male moose sporting giant antlers during the rut, Gareth added. “He has this massive rush of testosterone going through his body, so if you’re anything but a beautiful, sultry, female moose, you are in danger!”

That evening we spotted three black bears and a couple of bull elk, all grazing peacefully along the road within half a kilometre of each other.

Those bears will be higher up the mountains now, feasting on berries to fatten up before winter. And those elk — well, we know what they’re up to.

“Amidst the ashes, life finds a way,” tweeted park staff soon after the fire. “Just like the community of Jasper, Jasper National Park’s wildlife will rebound from this crisis.”

+ Suzanne Morphet was a guest of Tourism Jasper and the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, neither of which have influenced or read this story before publication.

fact file

+ Most hotels in Jasper have now reopened, including the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. It offers a wide range of accommodation for couples and families from log cabins to lakeside suites. fairmont.com

+ For information on other businesses and services that have reopened: jasper-alberta.ca/p/what-s-open-

+ Jasper National Park: parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper

+ Tourism Jasper: jasper.travel

+ When photographing wildlife, follow these Parks Canada rules: parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/activ/experience/photo-film