Michael Allen, Bear Researcher/Guide 604-698-6709

6am and 5pm tours seeing 6-12 different bears.

Main bear activity now is berry and carpenter ant/beehive foraging.

Mid-August triggers official start to "berry days" above mid-mountain in the ski area.

The next 60 days are crucial for bears foraging their maximum intake to achieve weight

needed to survive up to 6 winter months with no food/water consumption. Daily bear

activity is now exceeding 10 hours a day and will increase to 18 hours during peak

berries in late August and September. 

Adult female "Rosie" + 2 cubs finally located near Symphony Chair. Rosie is a

neighboring female that shows up in the ski area in late summer to take advantage of

the concentrated berry patches around Greenacres. This makes 7 mother bears with

13 cubs total in the ski area. Adult female "Alice" may have lost 1 cub (from 2 cub litter) on the north

side of Whistler Mtn. She has been seen 6 times now during last 2 weeks with only

single cub. All other 12 cubs accounted for. Elly's daughter that was previosuly injured and limping

seems to be fine now, although at least 5 lbs smaller than brother.

Other wildlife commonly seen...Columbian black-tailed deer bucks

with large "velvet" antlers, doe+fawns, raptors, hunting coyotes,

grouse families, and hoary marmots.

Reminder>>> evening tour starts at 5pm

Dress in cool layers with sturdy footwear.

Coffee is not compatible with bear tours...there are no cup holders in the vehicle.

Whistler Mountain west-slope mother "Daisy" tears into a rotten tree stump in search of

protein-rich carpenter ants while her single cub watches and learns (Mike Allen 8/2010).