28 May 2010

Train Kills Female Grizzly Near Banff

This is a 9 May 2010 remote camera photo of a grizzly bear taken in Banff National Park.

Banff Alberta - The death of a female grizzly bear that was struck by a train near the Banff town site is once again raising concerns about how safe the iconic species is from human activity in the national park.
 
This comes just four days after another human-caused grizzly death outside the park, near Cardston. Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers were forced to put down a sow that had been shot illegally.
 
The Banff death happened early Thursday morning, and is fomenting worries the grizzly bear population in the Lower Bow Valley of Banff National Park could be in trouble due to human-caused mortalities.
 
Over the years, a "large number" of grizzlies have died in that area, which provides a substantial food source for the animals when they emerge from dens, according to Steve Michel, a human-wildlife conflict specialist with Banff National Park.
 
Compounding the problem is that many of the deaths are females of reproductive age, some who had cubs.
 
"That has had a very dramatic effect on this portion of the grizzly bear population in Banff," Michel said.
 
"If we don't see a change in that mortality trend in the Bow Valley, the future of the grizzly bear in this portion of Banff National Park doesn't look very good at all."
 
Trains have killed more grizzlies than any other human activity in Canada's mountain national parks during the past 20 years, according to statistics.
 
In an attempt to battle the problem where their railway runs through Banff, Canadian Pacific is in the midst of several initiatives, including a $20-million replacement of all grain hopper doors to prevent spillage.
 
At issue is grain falling from rail cars, proving an enticing food source for bears and attracting them to the tracks, where they are struck.
 
"It's quite frustrating from all stakeholders' perspective," Breanne Feigel, a spokeswoman with Canadian Pacific said of bears being struck.
 
"There's is no easy solution."
 
In Thursday's death, however, there wasn't any grain on the tracks. The bear was hit about 12:15 a.m., roughly five kilometres west of Banff. Michel said it was a matter of the animal being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
 
But there is a history along the railway as the grizzly's mother is well-known in Banff and she frequented the track with her cubs, Michel said.
 
During the past 20 years, there have been 49 known human-caused grizzly bear deaths in the six mountain parks. Sixteen have been caused by trains. More than half of all human-caused deaths in the mountain parks happened in Banff National Park.
 
This latest death is also of great concern to conservation groups, which have been calling for the grizzly to be better protected.
 
"That's sort of the irony. You would think that in the national parks they would be safe even if they're not safe anywhere else," said Nigel Douglas, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association.
 
As for the grizzly found shot near Cardston, officials with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development are now trying to find the culprit, said spokesman Dave Ealey. He noted the maximum penalty for illegally shooting a grizzly is $100,000.
 
The officers found the bear with a severely broken leg. The animal had to be euthanized. The grizzly left behind three young bears, who were at least a year and a half old.
 
"There's the potential that they could survive, but there's no guarantee," Ealey said.
 
Richard Cuthbertson.