Black bear sedated after stand-off with elk in Canmore: RCMP
Posted May 24, 2026 12:59 pm.
A black bear chased up a tree by a mother elk outside a Canmore grocery store west of Calgary was tranquillized by wildlife officers Saturday, Mounties say.
RCMP Cpl. Matthew Howell says Alberta Fish and Wildlife officials were aware a black bear had attacked and eaten a newborn elk in the tourist town the night before
The next day, it appears the mother elk and the bear were face-to-face in a fight.
“Multiple 911 calls about a small black bear spotted at a Save on Foods heading south,” Howell explained. “Members located a 100-pound bear and a mother elk in a stand-off. The elk charged at the bear a couple of times.”
Howell says the elk chased the bear up a tree, where it was sedated by fish and wildlife officers who rushed to the scene.
It’s not uncommon for wildlife to be seen by people west of the city, but he says a scenario like this unfolding in downtown Canmore is certainly not common.
“A lot of our towns are surrounded by woods and wildlife, and the closer you get to the mountains, the more that’s going to be the case,” Howell said.
“That being said, this is something that happened quite publicly in the middle of the day, so I would say a lot more rare than usual, but Fish and Wildlife was there pretty quickly in order to tell what the situation was.”
660 NewsRadio contacted Alberta Fish and Wildlife for details on the fate of the bear.
