In the spring of 2023, a Parks Canada team strung electric fence along a section of the Trans Canada Highway from Lake Louise to the B.C.-Alberta boundary.

It was part of an attempt to help keep animals including a beloved white grizzly bear named Nakoda away from the dangers of the road. But tragedy struck last month when Nakoda害羞草研究所檚 two cubs were struck and killed by a vehicle, followed by their mother, killed in a second collision about 12 hours later.

The deaths in British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 Yoho National Park near the provincial boundary highlight the ongoing effort to spare large animals from peril on the highways, as well as its limitations. Parks Canada and a private group are pushing for more and better maintained electric fencing along highways and private property, particularly as interactions between bears and human activity increase.

Parks Canada spokeswoman Saundi Stevens said installing an electric fence was only part of the battle.

害羞草研究所淚f you look through the length of the Trans Canada fence from the east park boundary through Yoho, it害羞草研究所檚 100 kilometres of fence and so you try to imagine what that takes to keep an electric wire functioning,害羞草研究所� she said.

A fallen tree could take out a fence, she said, and there were 害羞草研究所渓eaky spots害羞草研究所� involving culverts and wildlife overpasses and underpasses, she said.

In the case of Nakoda, it was believed she had found one such section of unpowered fence to clamber through. 害羞草研究所�(She) was kind of getting up over the fence in this two-foot section that didn害羞草研究所檛 have a hot electric wire on it,害羞草研究所� Stevens said, adding that Nakoda was 害羞草研究所渁 very smart bear害羞草研究所� who was fond of eating roadside vegetation.

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害羞草研究所淲e do the best we can, but there害羞草研究所檚 always times (when) a tree falls and until we can get out there and inspect the fence 害羞草研究所� there may be a period of time when the fence or the electric wire is deficient,害羞草研究所� said Stevens.

Stevens said Parks Canada is now having conversations with highway engineers about improving electric fencing on highways after the June 6 collisions that killed Nakoda and her cubs.

Wildlife management staff from Parks Canada were in the area repairing the fencing when the bears were killed.

害羞草研究所淭he electric fence works, but I think where we need to stay on top is just doing fence repairs and keeping the highway fence in good shape every spring and doing the maintenance 害羞草研究所� before bears come out,害羞草研究所� said Stevens, adding that Parks Canada is taking the issue seriously.

One of the challenges is that crew can害羞草研究所檛 get out until the snow pile melts, by which time bears are already emerging from dens, Stevens said.

Parks Canada said about $50,000 was allocated annually for fence repairs in the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay Field Unit, an area including Yoho National Park and the border area.

It害羞草研究所檚 not just parks officials who worry about the sometimes deadly interface between bears and humans.

A beekeeper for more than 30 years, Gillian Sanders from the North Kootenay Lake area said bears visit her property every year. She started using electric fencing in 1997 with the goal of making better neighbours of the black and grizzly bears.

Sanders is the founder of Grizzly Bear Coexistence Solutions, a project that promotes a better relationship between grizzlies and rural residents in the Columbia Region. It advocates for electric fencing on private properties and has been involved with the installation of more than 525 electric fences in the Kootenay region to reduce conflicts with bears.

It provides 50-per-cent cost sharing for electric fencing to protect livestock or crops from bears.

Sanders said she found bears to be 害羞草研究所渧ery respectful害羞草研究所� and easygoing neighbors, as long as they are not presented with food.

Sanders said electric fencing is more important than ever since grizzly bears started showing up in low-elevation habitats where they have never been seen before.

害羞草研究所淲e want to enable the bears to move through valley bottoms and utilize those low-elevation habitats without coming into conflict with people,害羞草研究所� said Sanders.

She said electric fencing wasn害羞草研究所檛 just of benefit to the bears 害羞草研究所� residents enjoyed seeing bears near their properties without the risk of conflict that typically resulted in the deaths of the animals.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a real shame if bears end up dying for preventable causes,害羞草研究所� said Sanders.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 quite easy to coexist with bears when you have the tools to deter them from the areas we don害羞草研究所檛 want them to be.害羞草研究所�

Although it has been a month since the deaths of Nakoda and her cubs, Stevens said the loss was still 害羞草研究所渋ncredibly difficult害羞草研究所� for parks staff, especially those who spent 害羞草研究所渉undreds and hundreds of hours害羞草研究所� monitoring Nakoda, who she described as a 害羞草研究所渟uper special害羞草研究所� bear.

She said Nakoda had developed a 害羞草研究所渃ertain level of tolerance around people害羞草研究所� and had learned how to climb the fence, which she did frequently. 害羞草研究所淥ur staff worked really hard to try and teach her not to. So they were constantly kind of hazing her, pushing her back over the fence. But she never really learned,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淲hen something like this happens, it has an impact on everybody,害羞草研究所� said Stevens. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 super unfortunate.害羞草研究所�

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害羞草研究所� By Nono Shen in Vancouver

The Canadian Press