Your Calgary Herald

Grizzly killed by train was feasting on deer, not grain
Renata D'Aliesio, with files from Paula Arab, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2007

A grizzly bear was feasting on a dead deer, not grain, before it was killed by a train Monday in Banff National Park, Parks Canada says.

Her two cubs, left in the wild in the hopes they would survive, tragically met with the same fate. A necropsy to examine the contents of the year-old, 65-pound bears' stomachs hasn't been completed.

Spilled grain from trains enticing animals to railway corridors has been a long-standing problem in Canada's flagship national park.

While there were tiny traces of grain around the railway's rocks, Parks Canada doesn't suspect this contributed to the grizzly family's death.

"I don't think it played a direct role in this situation because it doesn't appear there was any grain in the stomach," said Steve Michel, a Parks Canada human-wildlife conflict specialist.

Deer and elk struck by trains are usually moved away from the tracks, Michel added, but Parks Canada wasn't aware the decaying deer was about 10 metres from the line.

"It looks like it had been there for some time. There was not a lot left to it," he said. "CP is not always aware when they strike animals."

Canadian Pacific Railway is working with Parks Canada to improve conditions around tracks that cut through Banff and other parks in the Rockies.

The company has committed to spending $20 million over five years to repair 6,300 leaky grain hopper cars. It also regularly uses a vacuum truck to suck up spilled grain.

"Every day, train crews get an operating bulletin advising them of areas where wildlife has been seen," said CPR spokesman Mark Seland.

Since it takes a train about one kilometre to make a dead stop, trains blow horns, flash lights and use bells to warn lingering animals.

"We're testing different types of technology, such as bear pitches, to see if that deters wildlife," Seland said.

But wildlife advocates want more action.

Grizzly bears are fading in numbers in Alberta.

Between 50 and 60 grizzlies are estimated to occupy Banff National Park, while fewer than 500 are believed to reside in the rest of the province.

Jim Pissot, executive director of Canmore-based Defenders of Wildlife Canada, is seeking a study to characterize the sites where grizzlies are dying. He believes the information would turn wildlife officials on to better protective measures.

In the meantime, spilled grain or not, Pissot believes the railway will continue serving as an attraction to wildlife.

"We have as many as three generations of bears accustomed to finding a good meal on the track," he said.

"I wouldn't say it wasn't connected in any way."

Calgary couple Rick and Heather Maciak thought they had spotted the orphaned cubs around noon Monday after the siblings' mother had died that morning.

However, Michel said the yearlings in the couple's pictures belong to grizzly bear 71. While unusual, that mother has already separated from her cubs, who are doing well on their own.

Their promising fate had given Parks Canada hope the other yearlings would survive.

One cub, however, was struck by the same train that killed his mother at 8:40 a.m. Monday. His carcass was found Tuesday in the bush, about 65 metres away. The other cub, a female, was killed by another train Monday night.

"We've had cubs that actually have survived on their own that have been orphaned at six months of age," Michel said.

Of grizzly bear 71's two yearlings, he said: "Our observations are they are out there foraging and doing fine on their own."