Orphaned grizzly bears found alive near Lake Louise

LAKE LOUISE — Two young orphaned grizzly bears that made it through a long winter’s hibernation without their mom have turned up alive and well near Lake Louise.

Parks Canada suspected the two-year-old bears made it into the den on their own last winter, and this week spotted the young bruins on the Bow Valley Parkway, just east of Lake Louise.

“This is excellent news. They’ve had the smarts to be able to survive this far on their own, so we’re really hopeful,” said Hal Morrison, a human-wildlife conflict specialist in Lake Louise. “Each day, each week, each month, their chances keep getting better, but they still lack their mom’s protection, which is the big thing.”

The mother of the young bears was killed on the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks on May 28, 2011, in what was considered a blow to the regional grizzly population.

Wildlife specialists darted one of the bruins with a tranquillizer Tuesday, allowing them to fit it with an ear transmitter so they can track its movements.

The bear was a male and weighed in at just 72 pounds. The sex of the other bear is still not known.

Wildlife specialists pulled 41 porcupine quills from one of his front feet.

“It certainly explains why he was hobbling around on three legs,” he said. “He found out quickly by himself that he shouldn’t be swatting at porcupines.”

Morrison said the biggest natural threat to the two orphaned bears are other bears and wolves, though roads and train tracks are also dangerous.

“As far as human-caused, roads and railway is the biggest threat. Unfortunately, they were on the tracks when mom was killed,” he said. “But we’re hopeful they will continue to live successfully. We’re just so glad to see them playing out their lives in the wild.”

Research with the longterm Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project revealed cubs in this region, on average, typically stay with their mothers about four years.

The young male bear fitted with an ear transmitter earlier this week is now part of a joint Canadian-pacific Railway-parks Canada collaring project aimed at reducing grizzly bear mortality on the train tracks through Banff and Yoho national parks.

Trains are the single biggest killer of grizzly bears in Banff National Park. There have been 10 known grizzly mortalities on the tracks since 2001, including eight over the last six years.

Steve Michel, human-wildlife conflict specialist for Banff National Park, said there is also another female grizzly with two yearlings travelling in the same area — and people should always be on alert and prepared to give them the necessary space.

“If people are out to walk the dog, or for a bike ride, or an evening stroll, they should expect to encounter a bear and it may be a female bear with offspring.”