Parks Canada has put in a 10-kilometre, no-stopping zone to protect several bears – including a rare white grizzly – that are feeding along the Trans-Canada Highway.
The zone, which will be in place until the bears move away from the highway, runs from near the Alberta-British Columbia boundary to Field, B.C.
The white bear was spotted in Alberta’s Banff National Park earlier this spring and recently moved west into Yoho National Park in B.C.
There is fencing that prevents wildlife from crossing the highway through Banff, but similar fencing hasn’t been installed in Yoho.
Concerns have been raised about the 3 1/2-year-old bear because people have been getting too close to it to try to get photos.
Officials say the no-stopping zone will allow the bear, its brown-coloured sibling and several other bears in the area to feed undisturbed and prevent traffic congestion.