Defenders Magazine

On the Ground: Grains, Trains and Grizzly Bears

By Heidi Ridgley

© Jim Pissot/Defenders of Wildlife Canada

Leaky grain cars are proving deadly to grizzlies north of the border. A train recently killed one of the cubs pictured with its mother in Banff National Park.

It's spring in Canada's Banff National Park. In this northern stretch of the Rocky Mountains, purple pasque flowers are blooming, branches are budding and the smell of grain spilled along the 50 miles of railroad tracks that cut through the park wafts toward the upturned snout of a rousing grizzly bear.

The park's 60 or so resident bears, coaxed from their cozy dens by the warming weather and their own ravenous appetites, have one thing on their minds: food. As they saunter along in search of it, a few may discover mounds of grain spilled accidentally on Canada Pacific Railway's (CPR) railroad tracks. If a train comes along at the same time, a feasting griz might never know what hit it.

Although it makes for easy pickings, spilled grain has become a deadly problem for the park's bears. Trains have killed four grizzlies in the park in the past six years. Three of them were adult females, and none of their five orphaned cubs survived to adulthood, prompting some conservationists in the area to say enough is enough.

The deaths are particularly troublesome given that the bear population in this region is the slowest to reproduce in North America. Fewer than 20 females actually reside in the park and a sow does not have her first cubs (usually only one or two)—until she is seven years old. She won't give birth again for another five years.

Within such a fragile grouping, a single, untimely death is devastating to the local population. According to the park's bear management plan, mortality from human causes in Banff should not exceed more than a single bear a year. But these deaths impact more than the Banff bears. They are also a problem for grizzly bear recovery and conservation in the United States.

"The big picture absolutely requires that U.S. and Canadian grizzly populations stay connected," says Jim Pissot, director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada. Smaller, regional populations need to mate with other populations to keep the gene pool diverse. Otherwise they risk extinction by becoming less resistant to diseases and other threats. Add the railway deaths to the number of bears killed on Interstate 90 through Montana, Highway 3 in Alberta and the Trans-Canada Highway through Banff, and the long-term survival of the population could be in jeopardy.

Working on the issue for Defenders since 2003, Pissot is focusing on the railway most because it's the largest cause of bear mortality in the park and the easiest fix. "All CPR has to do is ensure no leaking cars enter the park," he says.

Daily, about 25 freight trains rumble through Banff. Two are dedicated to grain alone. Other trains pull a handful of grain cars along with other cargo. Loaders at railroad yards are supposed to inspect cars when filled and pull the ones with faulty bottom latches out of service for repair. "Obviously, this is not happening," Pissot says.

Railroad officials say they educate grain loaders on proper filling techniques, abide by requests to report mortalities to Canada Parks and, when possible, pull dead animals a half-mile from the tracks so that the carcasses don't attract scavengers who could also get hit. "This is something we take very seriously," says Ed Greenberg, spokesperson for CPR. "Our crews are wary and know to be on the lookout for bears on the tracks and to blow the horn and flash lights."

The railroad also sucks up spilled grain with a vacuum car, which is very effective on large piles at the train yard—but, according to Banff park officials, it's not so good at getting what trickles out of a moving car. Grain also piles up en route when trains stop to allow other trains to pass. "CPR has tried," says Pissot. "It's just that what it's done has been inadequate." He says that on some sections of track, more than 12 grizzly and black bears are sighted regularly each morning, including bears with cubs. "Grain on the tracks is a big issue," agrees Ed Abbott, manager of resource conservation for Parks Canada. "It's always been leaking out of the cars, but in the last few years it seems to be getting worse, not better."

To remedy the situation, Pissot is working with the national park, the Grizzly Bear Alliance, the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University and a handful of other local organizations to explore ways to improve wildlife and railroad safety in Banff. "The first step is ensuring that grain doesn't remain on the tracks," he says. "After that we can address other factors that contribute to collisions and tailor solutions for each problem area."

For example, says Pissot, CPR might consider an advance rail car ahead of the train that can use cracker shells or rubber bullets to scare off bears feeding on berries or dandelions along the tracks.

Where these bear attractants grow in dense groupings, fencing to keep bears off the tracks could also help. "The problem with fencing, which is 100 percent effective," says Abbott, "is that you're talking hundreds of kilometers, and it only works in conjunction with overpasses and underpasses that allow wildlife to get to the other side."

Another big problem to tackle is helping the bears discern that a moving locomotive is dangerous. "Noise makers such as train whistles have been proved ineffective here in Canada and in other places," says Abbott. "They don't catch the attention of animals or cause them to flee."

Pissot instead is pushing for lights mounted on top of each other on the front of the engine that blink alternately to simulate vertical motion. "You'll notice when tigers stalk, their heads stay still and at the perfect level at all times," he says. "There's no bobbing up and down before they pounce because that would convey motion and frighten off their prey."

It may take some convincing before the railway adds new lights to the train engines in their fleet. But in the meantime, there are signs of hope for emerging bears this spring. The oldest railway cars in the CPR fleet—those most likely to leak—are leased to CPR by the Canadian government. "Rumor has it," says Pissot, "the worst offenders might soon get pulled for repair. It won't completely solve the problem, but it certainly would be a step in the right direction."