In Canada, a significant portion of Banff’s grizzly bears are using the 23 underground wildlife crossings to safely get across the busy 4-lane Trans-Canada Highway and access important habitat, according to a new landmark study.
The “encouraging” study identified 15 individual grizzly bears and 17 individual black bears that used the highway crossings over a three-year period — close to 20 per cent of the estimated population.
The findings of Mike Sawaya, co-author of the study, settle the long-running dispute over whether bears are actually using the tunnels, which were built in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
(READ the featured story in the Calgary Herald)
Photo from HighwayWilding.org – a Canadian partnership that funds connectivity projects for wildlife.