Parks Canada is investigating the possibility of installing a temporary electrified mat at the Sunshine turnoff where grizzly bear 148 has made her way onto the deadly Trans-Canada Highway several times.
There have been several reports of near misses for this well-known five-and-a-half-year-old female bear as she crosses the Texas gate and bolts across the busy highway, including at the Norquay interchange.
Officials say the last time bear 148 did this was on the evening of busy Canada Day (July 1), when she was foraging inside the wildlife exclusion fence after walking across the cattleguard at the Sunshine interchange.
David Gummer, wildlife ecologist with Banff National Park, said Parks is evaluating the possibility of installing a temporary electrified mat there or removing the shepherdia berries from within the fenced highway corridor, or both.
“She seems to be attempting to feed on buffalo berries,” Gummer said.
“Our staff were able to move her back across the Texas gate, which she seems to have gained a knack for crossing. She crosses without much hesitation, but carefully.”
There was a temporary electrified mat a short distance from the Texas gate at Sunshine interchange last year and Parks Canada intends to put a more permanent one there as part of the $26 million project to replace the wildlife exclusion fence along the highway.
Electrified mats are made of rubber embedded with metal bars or wire capable of carrying an electrical current. The mats deliver a shock that is intended to stop wildlife moving across the cattleguard.
Gummer said they are evaluating how other electrified mats, with a new design component, have been working at other sites, including one at Compound Road and another at Castle Mountain.
“We’ve identified a site for a new more permanent electrified mat, but that’s part of the larger reinvestment in wildlife fencing,” he said.
“Meanwhile, we’re looking at what we can do to improve the situation right now, possibly remove the buffalo berries or possibly a temporary electrified mat.”
Since returning from her weeklong walkabout on provincial lands near Canmore and the Spray Lakes area in Kananaskis Country, bear 148 has been spending most of her time west of the Banff townsite.
This week, she has been around Vermilion Lakes and the Sulphur Mountain area feeding on buffalo berries.
Wildlife managers are able to keep track of her through her GPS collar.
“She’s just trying to explore and trying to settle into a home range at this age,” Gummer said.
“She’s five-and-a-half years old and she’s figuring out the lay of the land and settling into her home range.”
