For an exciting and rewarding hunt, match wits with Canada’s top predators

GRIZZLY BEARS

With the closure of grizzly bear hunting in B.C. and Alberta in the last couple of decades, the three territories are now the only jurisdictions in Canada with open seasons. Alberta recently introduced an opportunity for residents to join controlled hunts for problem bears, but those openings are extremely limited.

Baiting for grizzlies is prohibited everywhere they’re hunted, making hunts strictly spot-and-stalk affairs. These great bears have large home ranges, especially the males, and they tend to live in rugged, open landscapes. That means you must be willing to devote significant time if you hope to be successful.

As populations rebound across much of the grizzly’s range, hunters are experiencing more unwanted conflict with bears that have learned to associate gun shots and remote camps with food. I’ve twice lost animals to predatory grizzlies, for example, including an elk in northern B.C. and a caribou in the N.W.T. When they’re up close and personal, grizzlies are far from the Teddy bears some ascribe them to be, and it’s their reputation as the most ferocious and dangerous animal in Canada that appeals to many who want to hunt them. If you’re so inclined, just be sure to  use enough gun, as famed author and big-game hunter Robert Ruark once advised.