Kananaskis bears are busy hunting for final meals

Bear activity is heating up in KananaskisCountry as the animals rummage around for the last bits of food before moving into their dens for the long winter sleep.

John Paczkowski, an ecologist with Alberta Parks, says it's been a quiet fall thanks to the failure of the berry crop.

"We're seeing the bears really up high digging for roots and ground squirrels and things like that, so it's been a really quiet fall and then it's just heated up the last few days as bears are sort of doing their final moves and heading toward their den sites," he said.

While most bears will be in their den by the end of October, male grizzlies are sometimes hard to get to sleep.

"We've seen them out as late as January but typically by December they're in," saidPaczkowski.

That means people heading out to the mountains over the long weekend should be aware.

"You can expect to encounter a bear anywhere in Kananaskis Country and I'd really encourage everyone who's out there this weekend at least until up til Christmas to be vigilant, carry bear spray,saidPaczkowski.