More grizzly bears were killed by people in 2024 than any other year on record in Alberta, according to data from the provincial government.
The province publishes human-caused grizzly bear mortality rates on its website, with data from 2005 to 2025 publicly available.
In 2024, a total of 40 known grizzly deaths were reported, with a list of causes including poaching, vehicle collisions and lethal removal by law enforcement.
That data indicates 21 grizzlies were killed through “agency removals” — meaning they were killed by Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services, conservation officers or other law enforcement officials.
Those are the highest numbers of any year on record, and the only year in which more than half of the total grizzly bear deaths were agency removals.
Before that, the highest number of known human-caused grizzly bear deaths was 29, reported in 2016. Most deaths that year were vehicle strikes.
And the previous highest number of lethal removals by law enforcement was recorded in 2023, when 12 out of 26 known grizzly deaths were listed as agency removals.
Retired Fish and Wildlife officer John Clarke says he believes the 2024 increase could be attributed to the province’s grizzly bear response guide, which was updated in 2023.
Under that framework, bears are classified based on factors such as age, whether they have cubs, and their specific problematic behaviour — whether that’s becoming habituated to the presence of humans, learning to associate humans with food, or preying on livestock, pets or humans.
He says the changes gave officers more authority to make decisions regarding what to do with a bear, while lowering the bar for male grizzlies to be killed.
“They’ve kind of put a hit list on male bears,” he said.
Fourteen of the 21 grizzlies killed by law enforcement in 2024 were male.
Under the latest response framework, a male grizzly can be killed the first time it’s reported as habituated or food-conditioned, if the bear is outside designated recovery areas under the province’s Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan.
If the bear is in neither a designated recovery nor support zone, it can be killed regardless of sex — unless it has cubs, in which case it gets what Clarke calls “one get-out-of-jail-free card,” meaning it is relocated the first time, but killed if an incident happens again.
“When you look at a population, females are more important than the males because they’re breeders,” Clarke said.
Grizzly bears have low reproductive rates. Adults typically begin breeding when they’re five to eight, and sows only have one litter every three to five years after that.
Grizzly bears have been a threatened species in Alberta since 2010.
Under the new changes, an officer still has to justify their actions if they kill a grizzly bear. Clarke says they are still expected to consult with others to determine the outcome. The guide also says “preventative action” — which can include hazing (non-lethal attempts to move a bear) closing the area to the public, or removing food attractants — is expected to be the initial response before the decision is made to capture or kill a bear.
In a statement sent to CBC News, the provincial ministry of Forestry and Parks said “there is no one-size-fits-all solution to human-grizzly conflicts.”
“The higher number of human-caused grizzly bear mortalities and agency removals in 2024 reflects annual variability in conflict incidents rather than a single, province-wide cause. In some areas, bears were more likely to come into conflict with people, livestock, and other attractants,” the province said.
The mortality data covers multiple parts of the province, rather than being attributed to any specific areas.
In 2025, the number of total deaths dropped to 18, with six of those being agency removals.
“Conflicts between grizzlies and Albertans can fluctuate from year to year and are influenced by a range of factors, including local bear populations, food availability, environmental conditions, and the presence of human attractants such as livestock, grain, garbage and other food sources,” the province said.
Clarke says the drop in 2025 could be attributed to a variety of factors, including the possibility that specific bears causing problems for people and livestock were killed the year before.
The province says 2024 saw two attacks involving humans and 92 involving livestock. In 2025, there were three attacks on humans and 80 that involved livestock.
Those numbers, provided by Public Safety and Emergency Services, don’t include incidents in parks and protected areas.
The Alberta government hasn’t recorded any grizzly bear attacks on humans this year — though a grizzly attack did take place in Jasper National Park earlier this summer — and there have been 57 attacks involving livestock so far this year.
To address grizzly conflict with humans and livestock, the Rural Municipalities of Alberta has called for the provincial government to legalize grizzly bear hunting.
Grizzly bear sport hunting was banned in 2006. The year before — the only year on record in which grizzly hunting numbers were included in the total death count — saw 73 hunting licenses allocated and 10 grizzlies killed in the hunt. A total of 23 human-caused grizzly deaths were recorded that year.
The Alberta government estimates there are about 1,000 grizzly bears in the province today, though there hasn’t been a provincial population count since 2018.
