BANFF – An off-leash dog chased a grizzly bear along a busy residential street into nearby woods in the tourist town before the bear turned on the dog and its owner.
A Banff resident witnessed the quick chase from Cave Avenue into the forest near the Banff administration grounds at about 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 and immediately reported it to Parks Canada authorities, which are investigating.
“The dog owner ran after the dog and the grizzly bear turned and chased the dog and the owner back out,” said Bill Hunt, resources conservation manager for Banff National Park. “In this case, it was lucky that the bear disengaged.”
Parks resource conservation officers were quick to the scene to haze the grizzly bear out of a residential area close to the busy downtown core.
The grizzly bear made its way to the Banff recreation grounds, swam across the Bow River to the Fenlands area before crossing Norquay road and travelling east along the wildlife corridor.
Hunt said the incident is a reminder that bears occasionally come into town.
“Obviously, we work very hard to deter bears coming into town and to make sure when they do that we haze them out,” said Hunt.
“Whether you’re walking your dog out in the backcountry or in town areas, your dog needs to be on a leash and it’s exactly for these reasons.”
Hunt said law enforcement wardens continue to investigate this latest incident, but no charges had been laid as of press time.
“If a charge is possible, it would typically be laid,” he said.
“Sometimes we’re constrained by availability of evidence. We always have to look at whether it’s in the public interest and whether prosecution is likely given the evidence.”
However well trained a dog, or however well it responds to its owner in a normal situation, wildlife managers say it’s not enough in most emergencies involving a bear.
“The bear will initially show a flight response, but very quickly in a chase sequence, some will keep running and others will take stock and turn around and chase the dog,” said Hunt. “That places not only the dog at risk, but also the owner.”
Several studies have concluded that dogs can trigger bear attacks.
One published in 2014 in International Bear News revealed 49 of 92 reported black bear attacks in Canada and the United States from 2010-15 involved dogs. Of those 49, dogs were injured half the time and the bear killed the dog in seven instances.
Another study published in 2016 in the online journal Nature.com showed the causes of about half of the 700 carnivore encounters documented in North America and Europe were a result of inappropriate human behaviour, including dogs off leash.
A newly released study by internationally recognized bear expert Stephen Herrero and wildlife biologist Tom Smith looked at human-bear conflicts in Alaska, from the earliest in 1880 until 2015.
The study found that domestic dogs helped stop bear maulings nearly half of the time – 47.5 per cent of 19 instances. However, dogs appeared to have initiated the attack in five cases, 12.5 per cent of cases.
“In 5.9 per cent of incidents, domestic dogs intervened. Dogs defending persons were successful in terminating the mauling 47.5 per cent of the time,” according to the study.
“In five instances, the dog was likely responsible for inciting an attack, either by bringing a bear back to its owners or barking, thus attracting the bear.”
If anyone witnessed the event of the off-leash dog chasing the grizzly bear in Banff, please call Parks Canada dispatch at 403-762-1470.
