Viral bear encounter renews push to enforce leash laws in national parks
Parks Canada charged two hikers after video showed their off-leash dog approaching a grizzly bear in Banff, sparking conversation about wildlife safety rules and the consequences of breaking them.
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A viral video showing two hikers with an off-leash dog approaching a grizzly bear in Banff National Park has triggered renewed enforcement of the mandatory leash rule—and serious conversation about why people keep breaking it.
The clip, originally posted on TikTok but since removed, showed a man backing away from the bear while holding bear spray, with a small dog running back and forth between him and a woman filming. Parks Canada identified and charged the two hikers after the video gained traction online earlier this week.
All dogs in national parks must be on a leash measuring 3 metres or less. Violations carry charges under the Canada National Parks Act and fines up to $25,000. A study in the Journal of Wildlife Management analyzing human-bear conflicts found that dogs initiated incidents 54 percent of the time, and nearly 85 percent of incidents involved an off-leash dog. Of 326 conflicts studied, 170 people were injured, five people died, and 56 dogs were killed.
Wildlife photographer Jason Leo Bantle said the bear in the video—believed to be Bear 142, a well-known grizzly matriarch in her mid-teens nicknamed "Queen"—was forced into a defensive state. "When you see that video, that bear is getting riled up. It doesn't know how to react. It could be looking at that dog as prey, it could also be looking at that dog as a threat, and then it's forced into a mode of protecting itself."
When bears show aggression toward humans, authorities often must euthanize or relocate them. Bantle stressed the risk: "We lose her, we lose generations of bears. The greatest risk to grizzly bears in Banff National Park is human behaviour."
Dog trainer Samantha MacLean, who owns Calgary-based Sun's Out Paws Out, said she sees rule-breaking regularly in the city. "People say, 'Oh, my dog has reliable recall,' or they'll be using an e-collar or something like that. They say, 'I can call my dog off of anything.' But for the dog to essentially come into contact with this bear, it's going to almost bait the bear to continue to come towards the people."
By the numbers
What's the maximum fine for violating leash laws in Canadian national parks?
$25,000 under the Canada National Parks Act.
What length must dog leashes be in national parks?
Dog leashes in national parks must measure 3 metres or less.
In human-bear conflicts studied, how often did dogs initiate the incidents?
Dogs initiated 54 percent of the 326 human-bear conflicts analyzed in the Journal of Wildlife Management study.
How many people and dogs were killed across the human-bear conflicts in the study?
Five people died and 56 dogs were killed across the 326 conflicts studied.
