GRAPHIC WARNING: One of the images below may be distressing for some viewers
RCMP have received information that a group of teenagers spooked several elk prior to them being struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on the Trans-Canada Highway.
The collision occurred along Alberta’s Highway 1 near a pedestrian underpass in the Cougar Creek area on April 27. The driver of the vehicle was OK, but seven elk were killed in the collision.
Officials with the RCMP Canmore detachment said a group of young people had been yelling and chasing the group of elk, which then ran onto the stretch of highway.
However, investigators believe the young people had no intention of forcing the elk onto the road, according to RCMP Sgt. Stan Andronyk.
No charges will be laid.
In a phone interview with CTVNews.ca he said, “it would be a stretch to say it was a direct consequence. There were other elk on the highway at that time.”
RCMP officials consider the elk deaths to be “an example of an unintended consequence that can occur when people choose to harass or bother wildlife.”
Andronyk added that after speaking to the teenagers involved, he sensed “there was a realization [from them] of why you leave wildlife alone.”
Canmore, Alta. schools and local RCMP will partner on a program to educate students to reinforce appropriate interactions with wildlife., Andronyk said.
Tracking experts told CTV Calgary they estimate that between eight and 15 elk and one wolf pup have been killed while trying to cross the Trans-Canada Highway east of Banff National Park in the past two months.
For years, wildlife experts and conservationists have been clamouring for increased fencing and safety measures around areas outside the national park.
In Canada’s national mountain parks there are a number of overpasses and underpasses with fencing to guide animals towards safe crossings.
