Parks Canada has charged two hikers after a viral TikTok video showed them encountering a grizzly bear with an off-leash dog in Banff National Park. The incident, involving Grizzly Bear No. 142, sparked an official investigation after the footage garnered millions of views .
The $25,000 penlaty for a three-metre leash violation
In Banff National Park, federal law mandates that all pets remain on a leash of three metres or less. According to Parks Canada spokesperson James Eastham, the failure to adhere to this rule creaes significant risks for both the animals and the humans involved. The two hikers featured in the viral clip now face potential fines of up to $25,000 if found guilty of the violation.
James Eastham noted that off-leash dogs can cause extreme stress to wildlife, which may lead animals to abandon critical food sources or essential habitats. in the case of large predators, dogs are often perceived as threats, which can trigger aggressive defensive reactions from the wildlife, potentially resulting in the death of the pet or injury to the humans.
Grizzly Bear 142 and the tragedy at Protection Mountain
The animal involved in the encounter is Grizzly Bear No. 142, a 16-year-old female and the daughter of the famous grizzly known as "The Boss" (Bear 122). As reported in the source, Grizzly Bear 142 is part of a species considered threatened in Alberta and a species of special concern by the federal government.
This specific bear has faced significant hardship recently. On May 17, one of Grizzly Bear 142's cubs was killed by a train on a stretch of railway near the Protection Mountain campground.. This history of loss adds a layer of volatility to the bear's behavior, making the decision to bring an off-leash dog into its proximity even more precarious for the hikers involved.
The "twohumanstwodogs" video and the cost of viral content
The incident came to light after a woman uploaded a 90-second clip to the TikTok account "twohumanstwodogs" on July 21. The footage shows a man wielding bear spray while a small dog runs between the hikers and the approaching Grizzly Bear 142. While the man is heard yelling at the bear to "back off," the video suggests a lack of urgency in securing the pet before filming.
Nick de Ruyter, the program director of WildSmart for the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley, criticized the priority given to filming the encounter. According to de Ruyter, the safety of the people and the pet should have outweighed the desire for social media content, noting that there was ample time in the video for the hikers to leash their dog rather than focusing on the camera.
Missing details on the hikers' defense and the dog's condition
While Parks Canada has moved forward with charges,several details remain unverified. The source does not indicate whether the hikers associated with the "twohumanstwodogs" account have issued a statement or provided a legal defense for their actions. It is also unclear if the dog suffered any injuries during the encounter or if the bear was forced to deviate from a known feeding ground due to the disturbance.
Furthermore, the report does not specify the exact trail where the encounter occurred, only that it was a "popular hiking trail" within Banff National Park. Without the specific location, other hikers cannot be warned about the current movements of Grizzly Bear 142 in that specific sector of the park.
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