A collared grizzly bear that was part of a research project by Parks Canada and CP Rail has died after being struck by a vehicle on Highway 93 North.
Parks Canada human-wildlife conflict specialist Brianna Burley said the three- to five-year-old bear was struck on Monday, July 21 in the early evening, but staff were unable to locate it at the time.
“This bear in particular was outfitted with a GPS collar and so we received notification that the bear was in mortality mode and we were able then to pinpoint (its location),” she said. “We upped our search for this particular animal and we were able to locate him on Thursday (July 24).
“The reason we didn’t find this bear right away, is this bear was able to walk off the highway and we were hopeful he just needed a couple of days to sort it out.”
Burley said on the night the bear was struck, staff were running radio telemetry and the collar indicated it was in the area. Equipment only indicates mortality mode after the bear has not moved from the same position for a period of time.
“Staff would not have gone into the bush to look for that bear at that time,” she added. “It is an unfortunate loss, our staff are pretty upset. This bear in particular, we spent a lot of time managing this bear over the Canada Day long weekend.
“We had a no-stopping restriction in place between the highway fence end and the Lake O’Hara area, particularly for this grizzly bear and one other.
“It is always sad, especially when they dodged busy long weekend traffic, to get struck on what we hope is a bit of a lower traffic highway. It is pretty disappointing.”
The bear, known as grizzly bear 149, was collared by Parks Canada staff this spring as part of a joint research project between the federal agency and CP Rail to reduce grizzly bear mortality on the train tracks through the mountain national parks. At the time it weighted 175 pounds, according to Burley.
She added it is also a reminder for motorists to be aware of speed limits and wildlife on the side of the road.
“We have had a real spike in roadside bear mortality this year, so it is frustrating and we really have to call upon the public, visitors and residents of these mountain national parks to help us maintain speeds and keep an eye open for roadside wildlife,” Burley said.
