Banff’s notorious grizzly ‘The Boss’ dominates the Bow Valley – but he’s got competition
listen to this article
estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
Jason Leo Bantel has witnessed the hierarchy of Banff’s grizzly bears firsthand.
He’s been documenting bear No. 122 – known as The Boss – for a decade, during which he’s watched the infamous grizzly firmly establish himself as the Bow Valley’s most notorious bruin.
“My experience overall with Boss over these 10 years has been that a bear has become more comfortable with humans, more comfortable in his landscape and his ability to deal with fairly complex situations has increased,” he said.
Boss is believed to be between his late twenties and early twenties, which is quite old by wild grizzly bear standards. His weight is estimated to be between 650 and 700 pounds.
As far as Bow Valley Bears go, he has an impressive resume, which also includes avoid getting hit by a train And a popular Banff trail was closed when it was spotted eating a black bear There.
“They have a home range of more than 2,500 square kilometres,” Bantle said. “This bear has a story and, well, he’s a grandfather now. Can you imagine? He can sit with his grandchildren and have a conversation that will be awe-inspiring to all of us.”
But while the boss is still at the top of the Bow Valley Bear hierarchy, he’s got competition – in the form of massive bear number 136,
“Split lip is now in boss territory,” Bantle said. “Two or three years ago it was a rare occurrence to see chapped lips.”
Bantle remembers experiencing a split lip just days after seeing The Boss nearby last month. He said split lip sightings have become more frequent in the Bow Valley in recent years.
Bantle said, “I and other people are having a lot of experience with split lip in areas where The Boss was usually only seen.”
“This is a sign that the split lip is moving into the boss’s territory, and the boss is having a dominance battle with the split lip, and those dominance battles are probably sometimes going in the split lip’s favor.”
Watching the showdown between Banff’s two most notorious grizzlies is a wildlife photographer’s dream (from a safe distance, of course!).
Bantle said that the scars seen on his face recently in The Boss are a sign that he is facing competition.
“Some of these other bears are taking risks, or think they can beat the boss and they’re willing to fight the boss, and their defenses aren’t as strong,” Bantle said.
If the boss starts avoiding fights when he feels his chances of winning are low, Bantle said, and starts leaving the territory, it could signal to the female bear that he is no longer the best choice to mate with her — and that would make it harder for him to remain the Bow Valley’s top brun.
“And he’ll slowly stay in his own territory, but he won’t have all the luxuries that he’s had up to this point, being the dominant bear,” Bantle said.
Bears are constantly being observed before hibernation
Bantle’s recent photos of Split Lip on a snow-covered landscape are a reminder that some bears have not yet gone into hibernation.
Nick de Ruyter, program director of the Biosphere Institute’s WildSmart program, said this is hibernation season for most bears in the Bow Valley, with some remaining active and awake. right in the winter months,
Bear activity at this time of year depends on environmental factors including weather, temperature, and food availability.
“Based on how good a berry crop we had this summer, I think a lot of the bears will be going into their dens fat and happy and healthy,” De Ruyter said.
but while bear activity While there appears to be a decline, De Ruyter said the best way for hikers and cross-country skiers to stay safe in the event of an encounter with a bear, or other predators such as wolves, coyotes and cougars, is to carry bear spray year-round.
