'The Al Capone of Banff National Park': veteran grizzly bear 'The Boss' still on top

A popular giant grizzly, known as The Boss, who has been roaming Banff National Park for over a quarter of a century, has emerged from hibernation. His popularity has inspired souvenir items, a restaurant name and a children's book. A souvenir tee shirt bearing the likeness of The Boss and another grizzly named Split Lip is seen in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Banff Sunshine Ski Resort, Kendra Scurfield, (Mandatory Credit)

CALGARY — He is the biggest, baddest grizzly in the Rockies, a pawed, clawed colossus stronger than a speeding locomotive, adored by groupies, immortalized in merchandise, siring offspring like a pine tree sheds needles.

“The Boss” has emerged from hibernation to continue his quarter-century reign as “King of the Rockies,” but a challenge looms as one more spring moves the grizzled grizzly closer to becoming a lion in winter.

“I imagine The Boss as the Al Capone of Banff National Park,” said Kendra Scurfield , vice-president of brand and communications at Banff Sunshine Village Ski & Snowboard Resort.

“He’s in a formal, three-piece suit, smoking his cigar telling his offspring and his wife the business of being a bear in the Bow Valley and what you need to do to survive.

“Every time we post anything about The Boss people love him. He is the biggest celebrity in the Canadian Rockies.”

At close to 700 pounds, he is an intimidating presence and a video posted by Banff Sunshine Village in late March generated a lot of clicks.

The Boss, or Bear 122 as he’s identified by his collar, has survived two train collisions and has 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.”

But there is a contender in the wings, an up-and-comer known as Split Lip is widely believed to be the heir apparent. The Boss is estimated to be between 25 and 30 years old, the upper level of longevity for male grizzlies.

A T-shirt, looking very much like a fight poster, is sold at Banff Sunshine. It reads “Grizzly Bear Showdown; Split Lip vs The Boss.”

St. Clair says with Bear 122’s advancing years it’s only a matter of time before he is dethroned as the two tangle to determine dominance.

“People are suggesting some of these contests with Split Lip now are looking like they are a bit of a draw and so people are predicting this will be the year when Split Lip ousts The Boss from the top position,” St. Clair said.

“They’re both big boys and Split Lip is younger and he’s just been getting bigger and bigger.”

In the meantime, The Boss will continue with his celebrity that includes being immortalized on the printed page.

Atlanta-based author Victoria Tudor said she and her children spied the famous bruin on a trip to Banff and it led to her writing “The Little Grizzly Who Walked Like a Boss.”

It’s a children’s book about a young cub and his wise mom learning about the wild set in iconic Rockies locations, helping kids learn about bears, nature and park safety.

The Boss, said Tudor, was the perfect muse. “The Boss is your local celebrity so we just jumped on this story,” she said.

Anyone with a free afternoon and a copy of Tudor’s book could also sit down in Banff and leaf through it while grabbing a bite at The Boss Bar and Grill.

A giant photo of The Boss greets arriving diners. Postcards on each table are silhouettes of the bear complete with information on bear safety and Boss facts. There’s a ‘Split Lip burger’ on the menu paying homage to his chief rival.

It opened a year ago and Steven Sachkiw, the general manager and owner, said it was a case of ursine inspiration.

“The bear himself is a symbol of resilience and local and Canadian pride. You walk down any gift store in Banff and you see Boss merchandise, big prints of him and all the tourists, they know him.”

The Boss’s celebrity has a downside.

St. Clair said she is a little concerned about the public fascination with The Boss and those people going into the back country to try and get a glimpse.

“Absolutely it’s a concern,” she said.

“I would just say in general bears that become kind of targeted by the public for sightings necessarily are going to be exposed to more people.

“That’s going to increase the likelihood of more encounters that can’t be tolerated.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2026.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press