Residents of Harvie Heights got a shock last weekend when the Bow Valley’s most famous bear, aka “The Boss” or Bear 122, came looking for wild apples.

It was near the home of wildlife photographer Jason Leo Bantle, who runs art galleries dedicated to wildlife photography in Canmore and Banff – but Bantle, in an interview with CTV News on Friday, admitted he missed all this glorious photo shoot.

“It flew right past my house in Harvie Heights — and I’m a professional nature photographer and biologist,” Bantle said. “(But) it was noon! I wasn’t home!”

That night, Bantle saw the news on his social media feed and was pretty crushed.

Luckily for Bantle, The Boss had a nose for these wild apples and reappeared the next day – only to discover the tree was gone.

Apparently Bantle’s neighbor made a difficult choice after the surprise visit.

“The Sunday evening after her visit, it was a difficult decision for her – she had planted the tree with her husband 40 years earlier – but she cut down the tree,” Bantle said, “(and then she) cleaned up all the fruit on the floor and such and made sure it was unattractive when he returned the next day.

This did not deter The Boss, who traveled the area, including climbing difficult areas, in search of a meal.

The Boss was looking for crabapples to stock up before hibernation

“He was tenacious — he looked around his yard for an hour, like it was pretty unique,” ​​Bantle said, and he was able to film video of the visit.

“The residents and I sat in the safety of our vehicle and just enjoyed this big guy – he’s such a handsome guy,” Bantle said.

Harvie Heights is a hamlet located between Canmore and Banff, but Bantle said the arrival of bears in town is quite rare. He said it was even rarer for bear 122, who is believed to be around 20 years old, roughly the maximum life expectancy for bears.

The boss searches for food in Harvie Heights on Monday, November 4, 2024 (Photo: Jason Leo Bantle)

“It’s a pretty unique bear,” Bantle said. “It has a lot of history in the Banff area. He weighs 600 pounds, he wore a radio collar but now his neck is too big so they don’t know his exact locations, but he used to wander great distances – and those distances showed that in the spring, above all, I roamed the valleys looking for girlfriends.

Photographer Jason Leo Bantle recently sat down with Bear 122, known as The Boss.

“Because he is our patriarch,” he added. “He is the father of more than 50 percent of the cubs in the valley.

“So he’s a pretty busy boy in the spring.”

Gain volume

Bantle said The Boss was probably bulking up before heading back to Banff to take a nap during the winter months.

“It’s hyperphasic, which means they just want to eat as much as they can to bulk up,” he said.

Bantle, who has a master’s degree in carnivore biology, says it’s important to respect the need to let wildlife live in the wild separately from humans and that, overall, people in the Bow Valley are respectful of wildlife.

“We need to understand that there are only 65 grizzly bears left in Banff National Park,” he said. “It’s not a lot compared to historical (numbers) – and every bear is so important, so being aware, being safe in bear areas, being careful – there’s a lot we can do do when we’re in their wilderness – and (it’s) just important to me, as a nature and conservation advocate, to raise awareness of these amazing creatures.