I’ve been following this story for a couple of years. It speaks well of our progress as a species that we’re taking train bear collisions seriously and that so many government agencies, environmental groups, and the railroad itself are working together to find a solution.
The above Vancouver Sun article mentions several possible solutions…fences, electromagnetic matts that would “shock” a bear off the track…and even lacing the grain with a chemical so that bears lose their taste for it.
No mention of a solution that I think might work…the bears are lured TO the track by the smell of grain that has leaked from passing trains… so why not lure then AWAY from the track with grain? Special grain feeding stations could be built at strategic locations that would draw bears away from the tracks. The added benefit would be that these stations would provide a food source as well…the article states that due to encroaching human activity, the bears are food stressed and are forced to subsist on the few wild berries and roadkill they can find. A bit of help from Man in the form of grain feeding stations would lure them away from the tracks and help with their repopulation. This solution probably wouldn’t eliminate bear hits by trains, but at least the bear population as a whole might do better inspite of the ever present danger that a busy rail line through a national park poses.
The proposed solution is probably worse than the problem. Bears aren’t stupid and setting up feeding stations is like a neon sign to the bear that says “Free Food, All You Can Eat”. The bears would become a bigger nuisance and hazard (they are predators) to the area around the feeding station.
I remember reading that one problem with bears eating spilled grain is that the grain sitting in the hot sun can actually begin to ferment, so the bears can end up getting drunk and falling asleep on the track, or being too groggy to move in time.
I don’t know. They’re getting hit by trains so I don’t think they’re all that smart. I’m not suggesting an all you can eat buffett…but more of a “controlled feed” environment that would serve to lure the bears away from the track and keep them from starving. But I’m no biologist and the idea may not work for a number of reasons. But who knows…it just might work too.
Mookie, good point about the leaking cars…apparently CP claims to have made alot of progress on that front.
There is already an effort by the rail industry to reduce ’ non-collision’ spills of product. Leaking valves on tank cars and leaking discharge gates on hoppers are the target of this. I suspect the FRA has mentioned something to car owners as at least one car re-builder/repair facility has mentioned a lot more activity in this area.
I remember something about BNSF having a similar problem with bears eating spoiled grain and being so intoxicated, they cannot move when a train appears(Marias Pass).