20 June 2007
Two Grizzly Bear Cubs, Mother Killed by Trains
Two baby grizzly bear cubs are dead the day after a Canadian
Pacific Railway train struck and killed their mother.
The sow was hit Monday at about 9 a.m., along with one cub, but the cub was not immediately found. The second cub was hit and killed
by another train on Monday night at about 9 p.m. Investigators combed the area west of Banff near Bow Valley Parkway and found both
cub carcasses on Tuesday. The cub struck on Monday had crawled into the bushes to die and was found with a broken hip and skull
fracture.
Parks Canada chief warden Ian Syme said all three carcasses were intact when found but the necropsy was not complete by press time.
"I haven't heard the results of the necropsy but I'm sure there was a lot of internal damage," Syme said.
He added that a glancing blow likely injured and eventually killed the first bear cub. The other cub, like his mother, was struck head
on by the train and both likely died quickly.
CP Rail train conductors immediately reported both incidents.
"The bears hadn't been feeding on grain, there was (very little) grain found," Syme said. "This time of year they're
feeding pretty heavily on vegetation wherever they can find it. The sides of tracks have lots of dandelions to feed on. She was either
moving to a feeding spot or feeding beside the railroad with her family and unfortunately went onto the track and got hit," Syme
said.
The grizzly sow was unnumbered and Parks Canada did not consider her a problem bear, Syme said. She was about 12 to 15 years old, which
means she had probably given birth to one or two families before this one. The cubs were average sized, dark brown yearlings, about 14
to 15 months old.
He said the chance of a cub surviving without his mother are "pretty good," before remarking that it is now a moot point.
Jim Pissot, Defenders of Wildlife Canada executive director, said the second cub struck was likely lost and looking for his mother.
The mother's remains and her scent spread across 200 metres of railroad tracks, according to Pissot, who called the incident
"very saddening."
Pissot added that CP Railway and Parks Canada need better methods to protect bears by discouraging them from feeding on railroad
tracks.
"In fewer than 12 hours, Banff National Park has lost another family of grizzly bears," he said. "Canadians are saddened
and infuriated. It's time for meaningful steps by Parks Canada and the Canadian Pacific Railway."
CP Railway recently decided to repair more than 6,000 federally-owned grain cars over the next three years.
Pissot said the loss of the sow and two cubs brings the total to twelve grizzlies killed by Canadian Pacific Railway trains in Banff
National Park since 2000. There are 50 to 60 grizzlies in the park. He said CP Railway is the number one source of
human-related grizzly bear mortality in Banff National Park.
According to Parks Canada, three black bears have been killed by CP trains in Banff and Yoho national parks this year. CP Railway
reported striking an additional black bear and her two cubs near the eastern border of Banff National Park, but nothing was found.
Parks Canada grizzly bear specialist Mike Gibeau will conduct necropsies of the dead bears this week. The remains will be frozen and
taken to Airdrie to be incinerated.
The CP Railroad repair program will cost about $20 million and could take up to five years.
A spokesman for CP Railway could not be reached for comment.
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