The Taelemans´ Blog

I know that some of you guys aren’t really interested in bear stories, so maybe this post is not for those readers (just to warn you guys:)).

I just finished reading a book which is called “The black grizzly of Whiskey Creek”. Why am I so eager to write something about it? Well there are several reasons.

First of all, Whiskey Creek is situated in Banff. Banff is a place we have visited in June. So we know where the story took place.

Second reason, I’m very intrigued by bear stories, bear habits, …

And the last reason: while reading some chapters, my heart was pounding and my adrenalin was coursing because sometimes it got really tense.

Sid Marty, the author, was an ex warden and he was there when everything happened. I don’t have the intention to tell you guys the whole story but at least I will tell you what the book is about.

Back in the 1980s there were a lot of problems with bears going to garbage dumps and feed on it. Wardens were pretty busy with trying to handle the situation. But besides that, everything else in Banff was going like it always was.

One day in August, 2 friends where going to the Whiskey Creek meadows to go fishing. Suddenly out of nowhere, a bear was charging them. The bear terrible mauled one of the guys… The wardens closed down the area and started a big search action for the bear. But they didn’t really know what they where searching for. Was it a grizzly or a black bear? Every lead was pointing in a different direction. After a few days they shot a bear of which they thought was the killer.

Apparently they did not capture the right one, because a few days later a second mauling was reported. So again, they used everything in their power to capture the bear. But a third mauling appeared. It was a 19 year old guy who was attacked. He was critically wounded. His scalp was torn from his head, he was bitten in the arm,… Why am I mentioning this? Well, although the guy wasn’t sure that the bear had left the mauling site, he went to a nearby pond to wash out his wounds and clear his head. He saw how badly he was wounded in the reflections of the water. Still he managed to think straight, start walking and try to find help.

I think it’s so weird that even when you head is that badly wounded, your brain is telling you to keep on fighting and to move on. If you think about a situation like that, a normal reaction would be to loose consciousness (not only because you saw the wound and part of your skull, but also because the loss of blood…). But it’s like your brain knows that if you go in a state of unconsciousness you will probably die…

After the third mauling, a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of hard working people, they succeeded in catching the black grizzly. It appeared to be the largest grizzly ever seen in Banff National Park and like I said, it was a grizzly instead of a black bear.

I can definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in bears and who likes to find out more about how everything works in national parks.

The authors website

Just a quick Friday afternoon post before the start of the weekend.
Lake Louise is a lake in Alberta, Canada. The glacial lake is located in Banff National Park of which the eastern shore of the lake is dominated by Chateau Lake Louise, one of Canada’s grand railway hotels, a luxury resort hotel built in the early decades of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway. This hotel is now owned by the Fairmont hotel group.

Lake Louise | Location on map

Lake Louise | Location on map

As you can see on the pictures, the weather wasn’t too great, spoiling the reflections on the lake…

[Ine]: I would like to add something. Just to make it a bit more exciting :).

A few weeks ago, a girl from Antwerp (who’s living in Canada) was mauled there by a black bear. She was jogging not far from the lake, and she wasn’t carrying bear spray. Lately I’ve read a lot of stories about people being mauled by bears. I think it’s mainly because the bear’s hibernation is over. But since bear stories are a topicality, I’ll try to write something, in the near future, about the things I’ve discovered about bears.

The Banff Marsh Trail is a 0.5 km boardwalk trail starting at the Cave & Basin site which leads downhill into a nearby marsh next to the Bow River. It brings you close to nature and wildlife within minutes of downtown Banff. Apparently this is one of the few places in the park where you can see the completely harmless garter snake, but alas.. no luck for me so you’ll have to settle with a picture of the marsh itself.

Banff Cave & Basin Marsh | Location on map

The trail offers excellent views of Mount Norquay, which is home to one of the many ski resorts in the area, Ski Norquay.

Mount Norquay | Location on map

Of course (since we have a photo addict among us) we are far from finished with our pictures from our trip to Canada and the US, so here are a few more.

The pictures in this post show Cave and Basin National Historic Site of Canada. It commemorates the birthplace of Canada’s National Park system, which began here in 1885. Naturally occurring, warm mineral springs can be found inside the cave, and outside in an emerald coloured basin.

Banff Cave and Basin | Location on Map

Actually we had planned to go to Banff Upper Hot Springs, but since we didn’t had the time to sit in a hot spring and relax for a while (we made that up in Vegas, so don’t worry, more about that soon) we visited the Cave and Basin.

Tourists flocked to Banff in the early 19th century to restore themselves in the natural hot springs
waters at the Cave and Basin site. Nowadays it’s not allowed anymore, to use the springs as a swimming pool. People don’t really mind because they can go to the Upper Hot Springs.

Banff Cave and Basin | Location on Map

Like I said, it’s breathtaking, but not only in the positive sense of the word. Inhaling the smell of the sulphur vapours, is really disgusting. Boy, was I happy to leave this historic site… (I had to inhale the smell again while visiting Yellowstone National Park, but it wasn’t that bad, the black and grizzly bears made it all worth it:) ).