No grizzly bears died at the hands of humans in Banff National Park last year – but the human caused death toll of grizzly bears on neighbouring Alberta provincial lands in 2015 climbed to as high as 28.
Last year Parks Canada met its human-caused mortality target, while at the same time the number of bears killed in the province was higher than the 10-year average of about 19 bears a year.
Anne Forshner, a Parks Canada wildlife ecologist for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay, said last year was a good year for grizzly bears -– considered a threatened species in Alberta – in the national parks.
“We are very pleased we didn’t have any recorded incidents of human-caused mortality,” she said.
“Survival of reproductive females is a key factor effecting population persistence, especially in light of research that has shown the mountain park grizzly bear population has the lowest reproductive rate documented for this species in North America.”
The target for human-caused mortality of independent female grizzly bears in Banff is set at no more than 1.2 per cent of the total population, based on a four-year running average. That’s the acceptable threshold before grizzly bear numbers in Banff would likely begin to decline.
Parks Canada has been officially at or below its target since 2009 – but what that does not take into account is the number of grizzly bears that predominantly live in the national parks but end up dying on nearby provincial lands.
For example, a train wiped out almost an entire grizzly bear family east of Canmore in 2009.
Both the mother, a Banff bear known as 71 and her yearling male cub, were struck and killed. Provincial officials captured the surviving female cub and relocated her far away out of the area. The fate of that bear is unknown.
For Banff, the estimated grizzly bear population is 60 bears. An estimate of fewer than 700 bears on neighbouring provincial led to their threatened status, but that estimate is being revised after research suggests populations may be growing in certain areas.
Colleen Campbell, president of Bow Valley Naturalists, said it’s good news no grizzly bears died in Banff last year, but noted the mortality target can be skewed when bears that typically live inside the park die outside the parks and are not counted in the target.
“It’s brilliant to hear there were no human-caused deaths in Banff last year, but it’s also part of a regional population and that population is threatened,” she said. “We need to be bringing young bears to adulthood and reproductive age.”
Campbell also pointed to habitat security as key for the survival of grizzlies, noting the national parks continue to see a dramatic increase in visitation year over year. More than 3.6 million tourists visited Banff last year.
There’s also no longer a social science program that monitors trail use.
“More people on the landscape means reduced habitat security for grizzly bears,” said Campbell.
“They are sensitive to disturbance at all times of the year, not just in mid summer.”
A total of 11 grizzly bears have been killed on highways in the national parks since 2000. Another 14 grizzlies have died on the railway tracks in Banff and Yoho over the same time period.
A DNA study done in 2006-2008, led by wildlife biologist Mike Sawaya, showed that the grizzly bear population 0 declined. It put grizzly bear abundance in the Bow Valley and surrounding areas at 73 in 2006 and 50 by 2008.
But because the study area was so small and the time frame so limited, it was hard for researchers to distinguish between emigration, mortality and low recruitments of grizzly bears as the cause of the decline.
Forshner said Parks Canada is working on looking at the population trend through other research.
“Right now, we’re combining and analyzing data from remote cameras and radio collared grizzly bears to determine how the grizzly bear population has changed since 2008,” she said.
Forshner said Parks Canada is working on ways to reduce human-caused grizzly bear mortality, pointing to fencing and twinning the Trans-Canada Highway to the B.C. border and the $1 million joint action plan with Canadian Pacific Railway.
“Parks Canada has made important strides to reduce grizzly bear deaths,” she said.
“We’ll never be able to fully eliminate the risk that people and transportation pose, but last year’s results confirmed work we’re doing is helping.”
As part of the joint action plan, Canadian Pacific contributed $1 million to support various research projects to improve understanding of the causes of bear-train collisions, other than spilled grain.
The work has included studying the movements of grizzly bears through GPS collaring and considering the use of prescribed fire to create better habitat to draw bears away from the tracks.
Among other things, researchers have also been looking at the potential of fencing select hot spot sections of the railway line, using a combination of electrified mats to prevent animals from entering the fence opening with electric fences.
“There are number of different projects we have done and are doing to try to reduce the risk of mortality for grizzly bears,” said Forshner.
The Bow Valley Naturalists’ Campbell said she wants to see concrete plans come out of the joint action plan to reduce grizzly bear deaths on the train tracks. Last year was the final year of funding for the project.
“It’s not just a question of Parks Canada being on their toes all the time and building partial fencing and so on. We also want to see CP step up and make some changes as well,” she said.
While there were no human-caused grizzly bear mortalities in Banff in 2015, there was one known natural death.
Resource conservation officers believe male bear 136, a 225-kilogram bear nicknamed Split Lip, killed and ate a smaller male bear, a 90-kilogram bruin known as bear 132 in the remote Mystic Pass area of Banff.
They are confident the deceased bear is 132 based on the unique teeth pattern, including a missing canine and a crooked tooth.
“The DNA results haven’t come in yet, so we can’t really confirm that 100 per cent, but that’s the belief,” said Forshner.
A spokesperson for the provincial government could not be reached at the time the Outlook went to press. A draft of an updated grizzly bear recovery strategy will be released for public input early this year.
Provincial statistics show a total of 190 grizzly bears have died in the last decade. Of the 28 bears killed last year, seven died on the roads and at least another eight bears were killed illegally.
Several were also put down because they were considered a management problem, including a female grizzly bear that was breaking into vehicle in Mount Kidd RV Park in Kananaskis Country and a male bear that killed sheep and llamas near Sundre.
