Campground evacuated due to aggressive bear @ Yoho National Park
Campground evacuated due to aggressive bear @ Yoho National Park

Campers at Yoho National Park in the Rocky Mountains of eastern British Columbia, Canada had to evacuate a backcountry campground due to an aggressive black bear. The evacuation was prompted after a bear damaged a campers tent and would not leave area even after people yelled and threw rocks at it.

Parks Canada employees flew into the site on helicopter to alert the campers about the nuisance bear, escorted the entire campground out of the area and relocated them to a front country campsite for the night.

“The entire campground was evacuated from Yoho Lake backcountry campground last night at 8:30pm. I had planned to do a bunch of hiking up top and grab some fresh content- to do some posts when I get back home but life decided- nope you need to learn something. We (everyone in the campground) scared away the black bear by yelling, throwing rocks and relentlessly pushing it away. The other photo is from a family who camped there the night before I got there. The bear damaged their tent and would not leave even with people yelling and throwing rocks. Lesson: learn as much about bears before you go into bear country so you know what to do should a situation arise. I’ve been camping for decades and this is the first time I’ve ever been in a situation like this. The only reason they evacuated our campground is because they received reports from other campers yesterday afternoon- so a big thank you to everyone who reports bear sightings and problems. This could have turned out so much worse. Happy trails and safe travels. Yes these photos were shared with parks Canada.” -The Friends of Yoho National Park Society

Parks Candad “Bare” Campsite Program:

Bears in the mountain national parks

Welcome! You are camping in a very special place, a national park.

We share this landscape with animals that depend on it for their survival. These animals can include black bears and grizzly bears, cougars, wolves, coyotes, squirrels, and birds.

Parks Canada’s “Bare” Campsite Program is in place for your safety and to help keep the animals in the national parks alive and wild. Campers and park staff are responsible for ensuring that wildlife attractants are never left unattended in campgrounds.

Keep a clean campsite!

Animals need to find their own natural food sources, not yours. By feeding an animal or leaving your scented food items unattended, you attract it to roadsides, picnic areas and campgrounds. This is dangerous for you and for the animals.

By camping in a national park, you agree to store all food and scented items in:

  • A hard-sided vehicle, trailer, or motorhome.
  • A campground food storage locker.

You must not leave food and scented items in an open, screened-in, or soft-sided shelter such as:

  • A tent
  • An open back of a truck
  • A dining shelter
  • A tent trailer
  • An oTENTik

This rule applies whenever food and scented items are not in use, such as times like:

  • At night while you are sleeping; or
  • when you are away from your site for any length of time.

When away from your site, you may leave out your camping furniture (e.g. lawn chairs, lanterns, and tents).

Clean campsite with tent and camping chairs visible. The food related and scented items stored in a hard-sided vehicle or storage locker.”
This is a clean campsite. Any food related and scented items are stored in a hard-sided vehicle or storage locker.
Not clean campsite. A cooler, camping stove and large water jug are visible on the picnic table. Many food items and scented items are left out on the picnic table. No people are visible.
This campsite is not clean. It may attract animals and put campers at risk. This camping permit may be cancelled.
Safe wildlife viewing distance for predators, such as wolves, bears and cougars, is 100 meters or 330 feet. Safe distance for all other large species, including elk, deer and bighorn sheep, is 30 meters or 100 feet.

Report all bear, cougar, and wolf sightings to park staff immediately.

Banff, Kootenay and Yoho Park Dispatch: 403-762-1470

Francis Xavier is a seasoned writer for Unofficial Networks, bringing a lifetime of outdoor experience to his work. Having lived in a ski resort town for years he has a deep connection to mountain culture....