Banff Elk Population Down Nearly 39%, but Herd Remains Healthy

Banff National Park's elk population is down nearly 39% from 2018 levels, but a University of Alberta wildlife biologist says the Bow Valley herd remains healthy and productive.

Parks Canada’s fall 2025 survey counted approximately 166 elk between Castle Mountain and Banff National Park's eastern boundary, compared with 271 elk in 2018. Despite the decline, Mark Boyce, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta, said the survey points to a healthy herd.

The fall 2025 count was above the lower end of Parks Canada's population target of 150 animals. However, the agency cautioned the figure should not be interpreted as evidence of population growth.

"This number represents a point-in-time measure and should not be interpreted as an indication of an increasing population trend at this stage," Parks Canada said.

Boyce said the overall decline does not stand out as unusual.

"It's not a very substantial decline," he said.

Instead, Boyce said the survey's most significant finding was the number of calves surviving. Survey data obtained by Bow Valley Insider through a Freedom of Information request show the Bow Valley herd is producing and raising young at unusually high rates. Boyce said few elk populations elsewhere in the region achieve similar levels of calf survival.

"Those kinds of numbers are almost unheard of," he said. "Most populations throughout the Rocky Mountain West don't even approach that kind of recruitment rate."

Parks Canada attributes changes in elk numbers to several factors, including wolf and cougar predation, winter food availability, hunting outside park boundaries and railway mortality.

Trains remain one of the biggest human-caused threats facing Banff's elk herd. Survey data show rail collisions account for roughly one-quarter of documented elk deaths, while Parks Canada records show trains killed at least 163 elk in Banff between 2005 and 2017.

Boyce said the findings underscore the significant role railways continue to play in elk mortality.

"The fact that we have to have these transportation corridors right through a national park is why we have a problem," he said.

Unlike the Trans-Canada Highway, where wildlife fencing and crossing structures have dramatically reduced animal deaths, train collisions have remained a persistent source of elk mortality.

Last year, the Town of Banff approved a vegetation-thinning project near the industrial compound to help reduce elk-train collisions in a known hotspot. Boyce said improving visibility along rail corridors may help, although slowing trains would likely have a greater effect on reducing wildlife mortality.

"If there was better visibility along the railroad, then the engineer of the train could slow it down if they see elk close to the railroad," he said.

With elk calving season continuing through mid-July, this fall's survey will provide the next indication of how the Bow Valley herd is faring.