A viral video featuring an off-leash dog in Banff National Park earlier this summer combined with new research is highlighting the importance of keeping dogs leashed while in bear country. Published in the Journal of Wildlife Management in June, “The Canine Conundrum: Is a dog a help or hindrance in bear country” has found it is more likely that an off-leash dog could lead to more conflict between bears and people in the wilderness. It’s publication nearly coincides with an encounter between an off-leash dog and a grizzly bear on Banff’s Taylor Lake trail went viral on social media. The video, posted to TikTok in July, shows a man with bear spray yelling at the bear who is closely following them along the trail. A small, unleashed dog runs between the man in the video and the woman filming while barking at the predator. Parks Canada said in July it had identified the hikers and laid charges against them for having an unleashed dog in a national park. They face a fine of up to $25,000 for the offence. “The Canine Conundrum” found 54 per cent of the time an off-leash dog encountered a bear, the dog was the one to start the trouble. It began after a couple and their dog were killed by a grizzly bear in the Red Deer Valley area of Banff National Park in 2023. The study analyzed 326 documented incidents between dogs and bears in North America from 1901 to 2023. Those incidents included encounters with grizzly bears and black bears, as well as a few polar bears. Across the data, 56 dogs died during bear encounters. Five people died in bear encounters, while 170 others were injured. More bear encounters took place with off-leash dogs than on-leash dogs, the research said, with incidents involving unleashed dogs outnumbered those involving leashed dogs from six to one. The study ultimately found the “risk of conflict could have been greatly reduced had (owners) carried a deterrent, kept their dogs on leash and hiked in a group.” It also said “the impact of human-bear conflict extends far beyond the immediate loss; it negatively shapes public perception of these vital ecosystem components.” “Dog-bear conflicts not only affect owners, their dogs and the bears involved but also the future of bears,” the study said. — with files from Damien Wood
