Two black bears were hit by vehicles on national park roads over the August long weekend.
Parks Canada received a report that a black bear cub was struck near Herbert Lake on Highway 93 North on Monday (Aug. 4).
“We did an investigation and were unable to locate the cub, but it was a good report from the reporting person, and I doubt the bear survived,” said Brianna Burley, human-wildlife conflict specialist for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay.
The day before, on Aug. 3, a vehicle hit a medium-size adult black bear near Muleshoe on the Bow Valley Parkway.
Burley said the black bear walked away, but it is unknown if the animal survived.
“The report said the car was going under the speed limit, that it was raining heavily and the bear walked off,” said Burley.
“They saw the bear come back and walk along, so it’s more promising than a lot of reports, but you never know what injuries they sustain internally and whether they die a little bit later.”
