After a year in rehab, Banff’s bathroom bears are back in the backcountry

The three tiny black bear cubs were found lodged in a roadside washroom in Banff National Park.

Nobody knows how they got there in April, 2017 or what happened to their mother. But when Alberta regulations prohibited the young bears from being sent to a rehabilitation facility in province, they were whisked from the Rockies and flown across the country.

They landed in Rosseau, Ontario where the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary cared for them and taught them how to be bears.

This week, the three sisters bears made their way back to Banff.

“The three orphans, now yearlings, are healthy and free in the backcountry of Banff,” Parks Canada said.

The cubs were found in the Vermillion Lakes roadside turnout bathroom in April, 2017. Parks Canada

It’s a happy-sad moment for the staff at Aspen Valley.

The bears are now tagged and wearing radio collars. And officials are optimistic, if they stick together, they will survive life in the wild.

Alberta has also modified its policy to allow black bears to be rehabilitated within the province.

Already, one black bear is being tended to under the new rules.

The bears are back in Banff. Parks Canada

And now, the finally know what it’s like to be this bear.


Parks is still looking for tips into the case.

“An extensive search to locate the mother bear was unsuccessful and Parks Canada has never determined if the bears originated form Banff National Park or somewhere outside the park,” the officials said.

The sisters get their first takes of freedom in Banff. Parks Canada

Photos Banff National Park

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Recovering newspaper reporter.

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