BANFF – Two female grizzly bears were struck and killed on the railway line in Banff National Park, while the legendary patriarch of Bow Valley bears, The Boss, escaped from the train’s deadly path unscathed.
The two female grizzly bears were killed in two separate incidents – one on the evening of May 27 near Protection Mountain between Banff and Lake Louise and the other early in the morning on May 30 near Bath Creek, west of Lake Louise.
Grizzly bear No. 122, a.k.a. The Boss, had been seen in the company of one of the females during the mating season, and while she was killed in the May 27 incident, he managed to flee from the approaching train.
“We assume they were mating. She was in estrous,” said Saundi Stevens, acting wildlife ecologist for Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay field unit.
“He wasn't hurt at all or injured. She was wounded and died of her injuries when our staff got on scene.”
The report to Parks Canada stated that there were two grizzly bears on the train tracks.
“The report is that they both ran off the tracks, but I think she spun around and ran back on the track in front of the train,” said Stevens, noting the female grizzly was unknown to wildlife staff.
“He (Bear 122) knows the routine, and I think this female bear was maybe a backcountry bear and less familiar with the tracks.”
The Boss is said to have survived a train strike many years ago near Vermilion Lakes, west of the Banff townsite.
The second grizzly bear mortality on the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railway line was near Bath Creek early morning on May 30.
There were two grizzly bears at the site, which wildlife staff believe were likely siblings based on their sizes and the fact that the female bear was not in heat.
By the time staff arrived, Stevens said one of them was dead.
“It was a young grizzly, not really known to us very well, although we think we’ve seen it around and it was accompanied by a second bear,” she said.
“The second bear was uninjured. I actually think it might have been a sibling pair.”
Grizzly bears are a threatened species in Alberta and research has shown that grizzly bears in the Canadian Rockies, including Banff National Park, reproduce more slowly than in other areas in North America.
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 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.
Stevens said the loss of grizzly bears, especially breeding-age females, is a “pretty significant blow” to the health of the grizzly bear population in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks.
“The females are crucial for population growth and stability, and they are the ones that have the potential to produce and raise cubs that contribute to future generations of our bear population,” she said.
“Losing not just one, but two not only reduces that current number of bears, but it does impact that future population dynamics.”
In the case of the two most recent female grizzly bear deaths, Stevens said there were no obvious grain piles at either site.
However, she said bears do travel the tracks looking for trickles of grain in the ballasts each spring.
“At that time of year, the bears do dig for that,” she said. “Having said that, we are working with CPKC and they came twice through our field unit in the spring to blow the winter-accumulated grain off.”
A joint five-year, $1 million 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.
The research also 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.
Terry Cunha, a spokesperson for CPKC, said the railway company has a long history of working closely with Parks Canada to protect national parks.
“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,” he said.
