Incidental Grizzly Bear, Ursus arctos, sightings during autumn Mountain Goat, Oreamnos americanus, surveys in Westcentral British Columbia

Abstract

While conducting surveys for Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus) in seven mountain blocks covering 3019 km2 in westcentral British Columbia during autumn 1996, 57 Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) were observed in 34 groups consisting of 1-4 individuals. Grizzly Bears were observed at alpine and high subalpine elevations. It was likely that many of those bears did not forage on runs of spawning salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in the valley bottoms, thereby further demonstrating the value of higher-elevation habitats for some "coastal" Grizzly Bears during autumn.