One of Banff National Park‘s most well-known grizzly bears has suffered another heartbreaking loss. Bear 142, a roughly 16-year-old female grizzly familiar to many in the Bow Valley, lost one off her two cubs after it was struck and killed by a train near the Eldon siding, close to Protection Mountain Campground, according to CBC News.
Parks Canada confirmed the incident, noting the cub was one of two traveling with its mother. Bear 142 is the daughter of Bear 122, better known as The Boss, a bear believed to have fathered more than half of all grizzlies in Banff National Park.
Grizzlies are classified as a threatened species by the Alberta government and a species of special concern federally. Their low reproductive rates make each cub critical to the population. Adults typically begin breeding between five and eight years old, and females raise just one litter every three to five years.
This is not the first time Bear 142 has lost a cub. In 2020, a notorious grizzly named Split Lip killed and ate one of her 2.5-year-old cubs.
Parks Canada has recorded 19 grizzly bear deaths on railways in Banff National Park since 2005. The Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail line running through the park poses a particular danger to younger, less experienced bears. Mitigation efforts including vegetation management, prescribed burns, and alternative wildlife travel routes have been implemented over the years, and warning systems that prompt animals to leave the tracks sooner are currently being tested.
