Bear warning issued for Vermilion Lakes Road by Parks Canada as The Boss spotted eating fish carcasses

The Boss, Banff's celebrity grizzly, was spotted recently eating fish carcasses by Vermilion Lakes Road.

Parks Canada issued a bear warning on the weekend for Vermilion Lakes Road.

“Due to the presence of a persistent natural food attractant in the area (fish carcasses), bears have been frequenting the area and Parks Canada has implemented an overnight closure to help ensure public safety and give wildlife the space they need at this sensitive time of the year,” Parks Canada communications officer Tomi Postma said in an email to CTV News.

The parks service said anyone travelling through or staying in the area should proceed with special caution along Vermilion Lakes Road and the adjacent shoreline.

Postma confirmed that one of the bears was Bear 122, or The Boss, Banff’s best-known grizzly.

The Boss has survived two train collisions and is believed to have fathered about three-quarters of the cubs in the Banff area.

Colleen St. Clair, a biologist who studies how animals and people interact and coexist, studied The Boss for five years almost a decade ago as part of research on bears getting hit by trains.

St. Clair, a professor, Faculty of Science in biological sciences at the University of Alberta, said it’s rare for a bear to survive a collision with a train but said The Boss was one of the few in the study that regularly safely ate grain and the remains of other animals along the tracks.

She said his being the first out of the blocks in the spring is part of his biological need to bulk up and, of course, look for multiple mates.

“It’s the biggest, baddest bear that gets to mate. When we were doing our study and they first collected the DNA samples of the cubs, 75 percent of them were offspring of The Boss,” St. Clair said.

“That’s what really decides who gets to do the mating -- the biggest male bear gets to chase off the other male bears.”

Anyone visiting the area should be prepared for a possible bear encounter through observing the following steps, the park said in a social media post:

• Carry bear spray and know how to use it;
• Be vigilant, make noise, and watch for fresh bear signs (e.g. tracks and droppings);
• Keep a distance of at least 100 meters from bears;
• Do not leave food or garbage unattended;
• Dispose of garbage and recycling in the proper receptacles;
• Keep pets on leash and under physical control; and
• Supervise children at all times.

Report all bear sightings and details (size/colour, behaviour, ear tag colour and number) as soon as possible to Banff dispatch at 403-762-1470.

With files from The Canadian Press