A yearling wolf - Date unknown Ron Nielbrugger.

5 April 2013

Yearling Wolf Hit by Train
in Banff National Park

Banff Alberta - A young male wolf from the Bow Valley pack has been struck and killed by a train going through Banff National Park.
 
Early Friday morning, resource management specialist Mike Grande received a call about the wolf being killed on the railway tracks east of Hillsdale Meadows, between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Bow Valley Parkway.
 
"It was definitely struck by the train," he said later Friday.
 
Grande said the grey-coloured wolf was part of the famous Bow Valley pack, which is now believed to have only four or five members remaining.
 
There could, however, be a new batch of pups this spring.
 
It's unclear whether the yearling wolf was still with the pack or if it had dispersed.
 
"The alpha male will push out anyone who is too onerous to feed or not a help to the pack," explained Grande. "This wolf could be one that might disperse. But, with the way the numbers go with the Bow Valley pack in particular, it's certainly not good for the individual population of that pack."
 
The Bow Valley pack travels west of the Banff townsite to the north end of Kootenay National Park. They are sometimes spotted along the Bow Valley Parkway.
 
Last year, four members of the Bow Valley pack were killed on the railway tracks or highways.
 
Colette Derworiz.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada