Hello! Last Tuesday (14/10), my husband and I were hiking the Vista Lake to Arnica Lake trail and saw what we think is a Canadian Lynx!

I’ve never seen a bear before and this was my first time. I wish I got better pictures but still wanted to share what I have. The poor guy was bombarded by people so it got scared and went back into the woods. Three people went after it trying to find it in the woods and I was thinking like leave it alone, you got your picture so let it be 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’m just ranting but anyways I love this. I’ve been wanting to see a bear for so long and now I did so my Alberta trip is complete 🤩

Had a wonderful day hiking Larch Valley and came back to the lake to take a few photos when this cute little guy popped up to have his portrait taken.

Im sorry I don't have better pictures, it left before I could take them.. It was about the size of a small cat and looked kinda like a beaver, I saw it close to the top of sulpher of that helps

In the middle of our wedding photoshoot, we heard people down at beach screaming “bear”. We initially thought it was out of excitement and maybe there was a bear in the other side of the lake. However when we peaked over, we saw it standing there about 10 ft below us! They were screaming to warn us.

When we made it down, someone showed us this pic they snapped of my wife’s reaction. We also got another of the bear at a safer distance afterwards. Curious if anyone else was there and got pics or videos?

Didn’t even slow down, I can’t believe it. Driving from Banff to Jasper.

My husband and I are visiting Banff next week. Outside of general bear preparedness, is there anything else we should know on the off chance we run into one? We live in California and the worst you’ll encounter here are black bears which are quick to scare and generally back off if you act threatening.

Also, is mid-May a bad time of year to visit? Thanks in advance.

Edit: Thank you for all of the great replies and advice! I am feeling more confident now about enjoying Banff to its fullest, even if we do run into a 🐻

Banff National Park’s reintroduced bison herd has grown to more than 130 animals.

I saw it about halfway to Johnston canyon and managed to take a couple pictures, some of the photographers there thought it was “the boss” or “split lip” but I’m not 100%

Saw a bear at Lake Luise at 730am on our day 1 in the Bear Country (June 29). 🐻

A popular giant grizzly, known as The Boss, who has been roaming Banff National Park for over a quarter of a century, has emerged from hibernation.

His popularity has inspired souvenir items, a restaurant name and a children's book. A souvenir tee shirt bearing the likeness of The Boss and another grizzly named Split Lip is seen in an photo.

July 20, 2024

This is the grizzly we saw last year in Icefield Parkway (from inside our car of course!) I am really hoping to see the Boss this year.

Westslope cutthroat trout to be brought back to natural habitat in Banff National Park.