The research, published earlier this week in Nature's Scientific Reports, studied animals killed by trains between 1995 and 2018: 59 bears; 27 wolves, coyotes, cougars and lynx; and 560 deer, elk, moose and sheep.
"The top predictor was train speed," said lead author
"Next was distance to water, then the (amount of) water near the site and then curvature in the tracks."
Train speed and track curvature, she said, make it difficult for wildlife to detect trains, while being close to water — particularly a lot of water — hinders their ability to get off the tracks before being hit.
The study builds on a five-year research project funded by
The research concludes effective mitigation could address train speed and the ability of wildlife to see trains, especially at curves in tracks near water.
Canadian Pacific noted in a statement Friday that the company has worked with
"CP has engaged with
The statement didn't address whether the company would consider reducing train speeds.
Co-author
"The trains (that) travel through
The latest study, he said, helps
"Mortality risk was highest in areas where animals had difficulty detecting trains and where they had difficulty escaping trains," he said. "Animals had challenges detecting trains where trains were travelling fast and in areas with high curvature.
"Trains can be surprisingly quiet when they are travelling downhill or coming around a corner."
Whittington gave as an example an adult female grizzly bear killed by a train in September. She was in an area with a steep slope next to the
"There were few places for her to get off the tracks."
The latest study also found that grizzly bears were more likely to be killed in late spring when, Whittington noted, water in the
"When we have deep snows, we'll often find elk and deer along the tracks."
Whittington said some of his
"We have a lot of thick shrubs and deadfall that has accumulated over the years that makes it difficult for animals to travel across the landscape," he said. "To date, we've cleared over 50 kilometres of wildlife trails throughout
"We're hopeful that will help."
This report by
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