Black bear ordered moved by Banff National Park leadership against wildlife experts’ advice

Banff National Park’s superintendent told Parks Canada wildlife staff — over their objections — to move a black bear due to public safety concerns at a popular resort ski resort, according to documents obtained by CBC News.

“The risk to the thousands of people that use the trail is simply too great,” Sal Rasheed wrote in an Oct. 29, 2025, email to Dylan Spencer, the Banff field unit’s resource conservation manager.

Two days later, the unit relocated a black bear denning by the Goat’s Eye gondola station and an access road at Sunshine Village Ski Resort.

According to the access to information documents, Rasheed had wildlife staff move the bear out of the area, saying it was no different than relocating an animal in other “high human use locations.”

But wildlife staff felt “alternative management options that better protect bear health and welfare exist” that would also keep the public safe and minimize impacts to the ski resort.

They recommended the area near the den be closed immediately to people, and that vehicle traffic be restricted to low speeds.

Ultimately, they hoped to realign the access road farther away from the den.

Managing optics

Sunshine Village staff reported a black bear to Parks Canada on Oct. 27, about 250 metres downslope of Goat’s Eye gondola station and 10 metres off the access road that serves as the main artery to and from the ski resort to its lifts.

With the ski resort set to open its first run Nov. 2, the road would become a main exit for skiers at the end of the day. Spencer wrote in an email to wildlife staff the gondola can bring about 2,800 people down an hour, and a busy day can see 6,000 people needing to get down when the hills close.

He wrote if the road was closed, it was “almost certain to create significant public backlash.”

Parks Canada staff set up cameras and found the bear had left its den three times, and Sunshine Village staff were honking when driving past the area.

A 13-page report presented five recommendations from wildlife staff. They included closing the entire area, closing the area with restrictions to vehicle and skier traffic, and haze or relocate the bear.

The report stated optics of moving the bear would be “particularly poor” and seen as Parks Canada violating its federal mandate to maintain and restore the ecological integrity of national parks “at the behest of a private, for-profit business.”

Spencer wrote to wildlife staff that closing the entire area would be a “gold standard.” However, it would restrict road use and possibly disturb the bear.

The bear would have to be hazed or relocated “in as safe and humane as way possible,” and Spencer didn’t “take this decision lightly.”

‘Horrible precedent’

Wildlife staff pushed back several times over five days.

Bryan Macbeth, a wildlife ecologist-veterinarian with Parks Canada, said there was “no precedent for hazing or actively moving” a denning bear in either Banff National Park or elsewhere in Parks Canada jurisdiction.

In emails, he pointed to examples of previous closures to accommodate bears near Tunnel Mountain and at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden, B.C.

An Oct. 31 email from Macbeth to Steve Michel, Parks Canada’s national human wildlife conflict and co-existence management officer, said moving the bear set a “horrible precedent.”

The attempts to sway senior field unit management failed.

And moving the bear hit the wildlife staff hard.

One said it “was ultimately cruel and pretending otherwise doesn’t make it sit any easier,” and “the moral weight of displacing a wild animal from its home remains difficult to reconcile.”

Helen Irwin, acting manager of integrated land use, policy and planning for Banff National Park, wrote to wildlife staff it was “precedent-setting,” and there were other options to protect both the bear and the public.

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Despite the back-and-forth with wildlife staff, the Banff field unit’s public communications stated “there is no viable option for implementing a secure and long-term area closure.”

A further message stated that after “thorough review and consultation with experts in the field of wildlife management” Parks Canada decided to move the black bear as the “only viable option” for public safety and to mitigate impacts on the bear.

The bear was moved Oct. 31, and Sunshine Village staff blocked the den with boulders.

A closure for the west side of Eagle Mountain, in the area of Sunshine, was made by Parks Canada on Dec. 5. It was for the same black bear that had been hazed and moved.

Parks Canada did not respond to a request for an interview by publication time.

After this article was published, Banff field unit spokesperson Tomi Postma sent a statement saying: “while an area closure around the den was explored, this was deemed not feasible in this case due to location of the den, continuous operational traffic and lack of alternate safe skier egress options.”

“Having hundreds of ski area users passing within less than 10 metres of the den each day created a very real risk of disturbing the bear,” she added.

If there had been a conflict involving the bear, it may have been put down since it could be considered a threat to public safety, Postma said.

“Parks Canada has been monitoring its movements and data suggests it has re-denned in a safe location for the winter,” the statement says.

The area around its new den is now closed.

An attempt to reach Rasheed didn’t get a response.

Experts divided on best approach

Gord Stenhouse, a program lead at Foothills Research Institute, wrote in an email to CBC News that it’s not uncommon for wildlife staff and management to have differing views in a high human use area.

He said black bears are “true hibernators” compared to grizzly bears, meaning they rarely wake up once in their den.

“However, no one really knows at what level of human disturbance a black bear may wake up or emerge from its den. Even if a bear does emerge, it will be very groggy and will likely just move away from the disturbance and try to resume denning.”

He added each bear — like people — has their own personality and “their behaviour can change.”

Martyn Obbard, president of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, said he understands the caution from senior management. He said the risk to skiers was “very low, but it wasn’t zero.”

Since the bear is two or three years old, Obbard said it was unlikely to be aggressive, but moving it when they did was better than waiting, since it would have been more difficult for the bear to den later on.

CBC News spoke with four additional wildlife experts. They asked to not be named due to past or existing working relationships with Parks Canada.

Two said a closure should have been pursued. The other two said moving the bear was acceptable given the proximity to the ski resort.

All four said it was a less than ideal circumstance because of the vehicle, skier and gondola traffic.

John Clarke, a former Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer who runs Canadian Bear Safety Authority, said there are multiple factors to consider such as how many people go through the area and the health of the bear.

“You have to listen to your experts in the field that probably know the bear and know the area and go by their opinion,” he said.

“Parks is all about wildlife. Their mandates and policies are protecting wildlife, but they still like people coming to their parks and enjoying what they have there.”