Female grizzly, cub killed on railway tracks

Bears were foraging in Banff National Park, orphan being monitored: officials

A female grizzly and one of her two yearling cubs were killed on Thursday when they were struck by a train in Banff National Park.

Parks Canada said the bears were travelling on the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks just west of the Town of Banff when they were struck. The adult female grizzly, believed to be bear F130 from identification on a broken ear tag, gave birth to cubs last year but was not known to travel in “high human areas,” Parks Canada said in a release Friday.

“It appears that the bears were moving along a narrow corridor on the railway while foraging for natural foods,” it states.

The surviving cub was later located and appears to be uninjured, officials said.

It remains free and is being monitored by Parks staff.

“Precedent has shown that given its age and size, the orphaned yearling has a good chance of survival moving forward,” the release states.

The deaths are the first reported railway related casualties in Banff National Park this year.

Six grizzlies have now been killed along the CP Railway line during the past decade, Parks officials said.

Another female grizzly, known as 143, was struck and killed on the CP Rail tracks between Castle Junction and Lake Louise last September.

Before that, no grizzlies had been killed on the railway tracks in Banff National Park since 2012.

“Bear-train collisions pose a complex problem, with no single solution. Parks Canada cannot eliminate the risk of grizzly bear train collisions along the rail corridor,” the federal agency said, adding it continues to work with Canadian Pacific to reduce risks to wildlife.