CANMORE – Fish and Wildlife officers euthanized a male black bear last week, after it was struck on the Trans-Canada Highway and sustained life-threatening injuries.
Fish and Wildlife received a report of a black bear being hit by a vehicle on the highway near Palliser Trail last Tuesday evening (July 31). On Wednesday (Aug. 1), officers were able to locate the bear in the woods near 300 Palliser Trail, tranquilize it and take it for assessment of its injuries.
“Upon examining the bear's injuries, it was determined that the bear would not survive and was suffering. For these reasons, officers made the difficult decision to put the bear down,” said Ina Lucila, spokesperson for Fish and Wildlife, in an email.
Fish and Wildlife could not provide an officer for an interview with the Outlook and specific details about the bear's injuries were not provided by email.
Lucila, however, advised the public to be vigilant of wildlife on the highways and roads, as they frequently utilize these corridors as travel routes.
To avoid wildlife collisions and ensure the safety of personal, public and wildlife alike, it is important for drivers to look out for a number of warning signs.
That includes scanning the roads and adjacent ditches ahead for animals, looking out for other animals in case they are travelling in groups, avoid tossing food or food wrappers out of cars, watching out for signage indicating wildlife nearby, keep windshield and headlights clean and if driving at night, use high beams and look out for silhouettes and shining eyes of animals.
Additionally, if an animal is spotted on or approaching the highway, drivers are advised to slow down, prepare to stop and avoid swerving around the animal.
To report an incident with wildlife, Fish and Wildife recommends phoning the 24-hour Report a Poacher hotline at 1-800-642-3800 or visit alberta.ca/report-poacher.
