As published in the Calgary Herald, October 21, 2000

Web site takes aim at bear attacks

A Canmore-based Web site dealing with mountain nature has added a section about bear safety in response to the rash of human/bear encounters in Kananaskis Country this summer.

The difference, however, is that MountainNature.com uses the identification of plants as a way to prevent those encounters.

"Most of the literature tends to focus on if and when you find yourself faced with a bear, when the vast majority of encounters could be avoided if people know what the bear eats," said Ward Cameron, the creator of the Web site.

Cameron is a naturalist, photographer and author of four books about the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

"Virtually every encounter out here was on a trail lined with buffaloberries...If you can identify buffaloberries, you have another tool to use to prevent encounters."

The site contains detailed photos of buffaloberries to help identify them in the wild, as well as information about the glacier lily, a source of food in the spring.

"I always tell people if you learn just one plant on the eastern slopes, it should be the buffaloberry," he said.

Cameron said he posted the information in response to the attacks this year in Kananaskis Country that sent two men to hospital with serious scratches and bite wounds.

He said this year has had an abnormally abundant crop of buffaloberries, and if people knew to avoid areas where they grew, the encounters could have been avoided.

"(Bears) have a very predictable pattern as far as what foods they eat at certain times of the year, and if you know about that, you are much better off."

Cameron plans to use an online test as a way to gauge people's knowledge of bear safety.

The results of each test are recorded, and Cameron said after enough users take the test, the results may reveal the gaps in knowledge by most people. 

"I wouldn't want to say this is a scientific test, but at the same time, the data will be very relevant."

"If people who are keen on the outdoors can't identify buffaloberries, then it's even more critical," Cameron said.

Cameron said he may turn the survey results over to Parks Canada or Alberta Environment, so they can better identify where they should focus their education campaigns.

The MountainNature.com Web site contains photos, descriptions and tips for identifying hundreds of species of Rocky Mountain plants and animals, as well as a barrage of information about mountain habitat.

Cameron said he has received positive feedback about the site.

He launched the Web site to combine the "traditional field guide with the interactivity of the Web."

He said he sees the Web site becoming a complete online community where professional and amateur naturalists, where information can be accessed and exchanged by everyone.