Drunk Grizzly Bears Keep Getting Killed By Trains

The bear population near Glacier National Park is staring down a 36 million pound problem of human creation, and it’s killing as many as eight grizzlies per year. There isn’t much in the wild that can take down a grizzly, but a stretch of rail line that goes over the Marias Pass in Montana is one of the predator’s most deadly perils. The bears are attracted to the rail line because the trains frequently drop grain, and when they consume the cold fermented grain a bear can become intoxicated to the point of either falling asleep right there on the tracks, or becoming too lethargic to effectively run away.

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These bears, part of the Northern Continental Divide grizzly population, are not being protected from their own drunk behavior well enough, former federal ecologist Chuck Neal told Cowboy State Daily:

Neal said he thinks the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) rail company isn’t doing enough to protect the bears from such a terrible fate.

“BNSF have been stalling doing anything for some years believing that the grizzly is going to be delisted (from endangered species status), another reason I am against delisting, and they will not have to come up with some type of plan that will give them an ‘incidental take’ permit from USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service),” Neal said.

“As for what can be done, one idea that has been tossed around is to have some type of noise maker triggered as trains approach known ‘kill zones,’” he added. “Of course, if the bears are drunk, it is questionable how effective that would be.

“Another idea is to not load the train cars so full, an idea that BNSF does not like. Another idea is not run the trains under certain weather conditions when derailment possibilities increase, an idea that BNSF also does not like. So right now, the last word that I have is that not much has been done at all and the bears continue to die.”

According to the State Daily, BNSF is attempting to push off any action on the matter because grizzly populations are growing to the point where they may soon be delisted from endangered species status. The train company doesn’t want the death of these bears to force them to run trains less full, or to avoid running trains in weather that may cause derailments. Apparently the rail operators’ bottom line is dependent on running overloaded train cars in risky inclement weather, and the coffers are greased with the blood of dead bears.

To learn more about the bears, their populations, the train problem, and potential solutions, check out Cowboy State Daily’s report on the matter. It’s well worth a read.