BANFF – Three grizzly bears have died on the train tracks in Banff National Park so far this year, while wildlife staff recently searched the woods for two days for any sign of a dead or injured bear that luckily turned out to be a near-miss.
Kelly Veillette, public relations and communications officer for Banff National Park, said Parks Canada received a report that a train struck an adult grizzly east of the Castle Junction area along the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City (CPKC) line on July 19.
“Parks Canada wildlife specialists responded to the report, and did not locate a bear but a photo taken just before the strike confirmed it was a grizzly bear,” she said in an email statement.
“Staff continued to search the area over the following two days and the most likely outcome is that the grizzly bear narrowly missed being struck and was able to walk away.”
Veillette said there have been multiple reported grizzly bear strikes on the CPKC rail line within Banff National Park so far this summer; however, a reported strike does not equate to a confirmed bear death.
There have been three confirmed grizzly bear deaths in the park so far this year, though.
On June 17, Parks Canada received a report of a grizzly that was struck and killed on the tracks near Johnston Canyon.
“A male grizzly bear was found deceased,” Veillette said in the email.
The dead grizzly is not one of the well-known dominant grizzlies of the Bow Valley – Bear No. 122, dubbed The Boss, or Bear No. 136, nicknamed Split Lip, for his disfigured mouth.
The death of a female grizzly bear on May 27 near Protection Mountain and the deadly strike of a young female grizzly on May 30 near Bath Creek, west of Lake Louise, were previously reported by the Outlook.
John Marriott, a prominent local wildlife photographer and co-founder of Exposed Wildlife Conservancy, said these deaths and potential strikes are “just brutal.”
“As a wildlife conservationist, it’s deeply disturbing that we can’t keep Alberta’s threatened grizzly bears alive in our flagship national park,” he said.
Things need to change, Marriott said, and that begins with measures like looking at fencing the railway, forcing mandatory speed restrictions, and increased efforts to enhance habitat patches away from the train tracks.
“I think after witnessing bears die on our Banff railway tracks for decades on end that it’s time for (CPKC) to face the music and put in some real mitigation work,” he said.
“And Parks Canada needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and come up with better solutions that they force on (CPKC) if they have to.”
In the May 27 incident, Parks Canada received a report of two grizzly bears, one an unknown female and the other The Boss, on the railway tracks near Protection Mountain.
The Boss, who had been seen in the company of the female during the mating season, managed to flee the approaching train. The Boss is said to have survived a train strike many years ago near Vermilion Lakes, west of the Banff townsite.
Veillette said, however, the adult female grizzly was struck by a passing train and sustained “significant injuries.”
“Parks Canada wildlife officers responded and determined the bear had died of its injuries,” she said.
Then, three days later, on May 30, there were two grizzly bears at the site near Bath Creek early that morning.
Wildlife staff believed they were likely siblings based on their sizes and the fact that the female bear was not in heat. By the time staff arrived, one of them was dead.
“The loss of any bear, particularly breeding females, is a serious concern for the broader population in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks,” Veillette said.
Veillette said Parks Canada continues to work closely with CPKC and other partners to reduce risks through a range of mitigation measures, including vegetation management, fencing, wildlife crossing structures, and real-time monitoring.
"Each incident is investigated, when possible, to collect data that informs ongoing efforts,” she said in the email.
Railways follow valley bottoms where bears naturally travel and search for food, including spilled grain or animal carcasses along the train tracks.
A five-year, $1 million joint Canadian Pacific Railway-Parks Canada study from 2012-17 looked at the alarming number of grizzly bear deaths on the train tracks. As part of the study, 25 grizzly bears, including 10 males and 15 females, were captured and fitted with GPS collars to track their movements.
The study concluded there were many reasons for bear deaths, including train speed, blind spots, track curvature and nearby waterbodies, but that spilled grain also played a deadly role.
The research found that approximately 110 tonnes of grain is spilled or trickled from trains across a 137-kilometre stretch of railway in Banff and Yoho – enough to feed 50 bears for an entire year.
Veillette said Parks Canada has been working for over a decade to reduce bear-train collisions.
“Despite best joint efforts and prevention, rail strikes are unfortunately still a reality within the national park,” she said.
Terry Cunha, a spokesperson for CPKC, said train crews report animal strikes to their operations centre, and then information is shared with Parks Canada.
"As wildlife experts have stated, this is a complex problem, with no simple solution," he said in an email.
"There are many factors affecting wildlife within the parks, and we focus on mitigation efforts within our existing right-of-way, including investing in targeted vegetation management along our tracks to decrease attractant species close to the railway, support wildlife sightlines and room for wildlife to safely exit the tracks."
According to Parks Canada’s website, there are thought to be 65 bears in Banff National Park and 109 in Jasper National Park. In British Columbia’s Yoho and Kootenay national parks, there are believed to be 11-15 and 9-16, respectively.
However, a peer-reviewed study published in Ecosphere in April 2025 shows the grizzly bear population from 2013-23 for Banff was stable to slightly increasing to about 70 bears, though not all bears spend their entire lives within the national park.
The research, led by Parks Canada’s wildlife ecologist Jesse Whittington, also demonstrated that the density of bear activity near paved roads and areas packed with visitors declined over time, suggesting ongoing grizzly bear deaths in the busy Bow Valley could be offset by population growth in the backcountry.
