Spatiotemporal railway use by grizzly bears in Canada's Rocky Mountains

Grizzly bears in Canada's Rocky Mountains, including Banff and Yoho National Parks, are more likely to use railway networks near railroad sidings, at intermediate distances from human-use features, and close to rugged terrain or wet areas. Research using GPS collar data from 27 bears between 2000 and 2016 revealed that bears predominantly cross railways rather than continue along them, with such crossings occurring more frequently in spring and fall. Surprisingly, bear-train collisions were negatively correlated with locations where bears continued along the railway, contrary to initial predictions. This suggests that while railways may offer easier travel or better forage, the mechanisms behind collisions remain unclear. Mitigation efforts could focus on areas with concentrated past strikes to protect grizzly bears and other sensitive populations.

Pollock, S. Z., Whittington, J., Nielsen, S. E., & St. Clair, C. C. (2019). Spatiotemporal railway use by grizzly bears in Canada’s Rocky Mountains. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 83(8), 1787–1799. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21750