Wildlife

They call it the Bear Country, and I can’t find reasons to hold them back for doing so. An Estimated 380,000 Black Bears and 26,000 Grizzlies on the Canadian Soil, compared with a resident population of 8,000 fellow beings in Banff Town, the numbers do explain! But it is not just the bears, the Banff National Park is an amphitheatre for the entire food chain, not limited to Elk, Caribou, Cougar, Bighorn Sheep, Wolf, Coyote, Wolverine and much more.
Whilst the town is not far for the Wild (I had my only Elk spotting in the Banff Town itself), expanses thick in wild include Lake Minnewanka region, Bow Valley Parkway, Lake Vermillion Region, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake Trails. Dawn and Dusk, mating and feeding season, do offer optimised chances of viewing, but the wild is not shy and you may spot one at a place and at a time when you least expect it. Having an immense familiarity of the region, organised tours do take you up and close with the wild in their habitat. ‘Banff Evening Wildlife Safari’ and ‘Discover Grizzly Bears,’ with the latter including a visit to the world’s largest Grizzly Bear Refuge, are quite popular, with advance bookings recommended.

Being in the wild, folklores run abundant, and I did happen to put my discerning ears to one, which involved a huge Grizzly, which the locals call ‘The Boss.’ A denizen of the Lake Minnewanka Region, this avid predator once had a brawl with two Black Bears, ripped them apart and had them for lunch. Another day collided with a train, with only apparent damage to the wagon, this one left the spot unscathed and still roams at large along the Northern shore of Lake Minnewanka.