It’s been a tough and deadly week for black bears in the mountain national parks.
Three black bears were killed on the roads and railway line in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks, a fourth bruin is possibly dead after getting hit by a car and another one was so stressed it spent more than 24 hours up a tree in the middle of the busy Trans-Canada Highway.
A cinnamon-coloured black bear made its way onto the highway around 8 a.m. on Monday (June 16) near Carrot Creek east of Banff, and when wildlife crews opened a gate in the fence to try to get it to safety, another black bear came onto the highway.
Wardens and RCMP temporarily shut down the highway to keep the stressed bears safe. Wildlife experts hazed one of the bruins back to the other side of the fence, while the other one scampered up a tree in the centre median between the east and west bound lanes.
The scared bruin remained up the tree for more than 24 hours. As of Wednesday (June 18), however, the bear had climbed down from the tree.
Steve Michel, human-wildlife conflict specialist for Banff National Park, said there is a lot of bear activity in the lower valley bottoms where there’s more to eat, and noted black and grizzly bears are also moving around a lot because it’s breeding season.
“We have a very significant amount of bear activity, all concentrated in lower elevation valley bottoms where there’s good foraging, because there’s so much snow up higher,” he said.
“We ask all motorists to be extra vigilant and conscious of their speed, and be aware that there could be wildlife on the highways. There’s a lot of potential for collisions between vehicles and wildlife, even in the fenced sections of highway.”
On Wednesday (June 11), an adult male black bear was killed on the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park about 500 metres east of the Alberta-B.C. border, and a black bear cub was struck and killed on Highway 93 South in Kootenay National Park near Olive Lake about 10 p.m. on Friday (June 13).
Just after midnight on Saturday (June 14), a black bear was hit and killed on the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks east of Protection Mountain Campground in Banff National Park.
On Monday (June 16), a black bear was hit by a vehicle on the Trans-Canada Highway near the power plant just east of the Minnewanka interchange about 2:30 p.m.
When wildlife officials arrived at the scene shortly after, the bear was still alive and mobile about an hour after being struck.
“It got hit by a vehicle and survived the collision and we were able to get it back outside the highway by cutting a hole in the fence so it could escape,” said Michel.
“It does have a serious leg injury, it was still mobile and able to run, but had a very significant limp.”
Michel said it’s difficult to say whether or not the bear will survive.
“Bears are quite resilient to leg injuries, and it all depends as to whether there were any internal injuries to the bear,” he said. “If it is just isolated to the lower limb, even if the injury is quite severe, it may heal up and do fine, but if there is internal damage it may not fare as well.”
As for the bear up the tree on the highway, Michel said the best option throughout the ordeal was to let the bear calm down enough to be able to make its way down the tree on its own.
He said it would be too dangerous for the bear to tranquilize it and handle it on the busy highway.
“The only intervention options are dangerous for the bear. We have to let it come down on its own,” he said.
“If they’re stressed, they will stay up there for quite a while. They need to be able to relax enough to come down on their own.”
It is not known how the three bears got onto the Trans-Canada Highway east of Banff on Monday, whether they climbed over or under the fence, or found a hole to get through.
It is not uncommon for black bears to simply scramble over the top of a fence and fence posts, and they are also known to climb a fence to cross the road instead of using crossing structures.
Michel said the wildlife fence between the townsite and the park’s east gate is not in great condition, and has several design flaws, including no apron built into the bottom to prevent animals going under.
He said some areas are overgrown with trees and shrubs, and much of the fence is set back from the highway and therefore hard to see, which makes it difficult to maintain as a result.
“The reality is it’s just old, it’s 35 years old, and we have sections that are starting to go beyond the anticipated lifespan,” said Michel.
“For some species, like ungulates, it’s worked very well, but it doesn’t work as well for some of the carnivores.”
