The three grizzly bears who visited Cranbrook on Monday, made a visit to Bootleg Gap Golf Course on Wednesday, stopping play while marshalls and Conservation Officers tried to clear the course.

Golf Course Superintendent Pat McTeer said he got a phone call just past 5 p.m. on Wednesday from Becky Anderson in the pro shop.

“Golfers had called and told her there were grizzly bears on the 14th hole,” McTeer said. “So I went flying down there. I couldn’t see them, then I saw people pointing and whistling on the 17th tee. I went up and they were walking up the cart path to the 18th hole.”

McTeer called the CO’s and they followed the bears for 30 to 40 minutes until the CO’s arrived.

“They are the same bears that were in Cranbrook, one had a tag in its ear. So we talked about the quickest way to get them off the course.We maneuvered them around for a while and eventually they headed out across the prairie at the end of the course.”

McTeer says police stopped people on the Rails to Trails as they were headed that way.

Police also stopped traffic to allow the bears to walk across the highway.

“They headed way north east towards the Rockies,” McTeer said. “It was amazing. Mother Nature at her best. I’d never seen a grizzly in my life before. It was incredible.”