Split Lip Spotted At Sunshine Village Ahead of Slush Cup Weekend

One of Banff’s well-known grizzly bear was spotted at Sunshine Village on Thursday, May 14, days before the resort’s annual Slush Cup weekend.

Video shared by visitor Samantha Yates on Facebook shows Split Lip, also known as Grizzly 136, walking through the resort parking area near vehicles and buildings while guests and staff watched from nearby balconies.

Yates said she and her group were returning rental gear when employees began alerting people to the bear’s presence.

“One of the employees was sprinting from one end of the building to the other screaming, ‘A bear, a bear,’” Yates said.

Yates said Split Lip appeared from a wooded area before entering the parking lot while some visitors were unloading equipment from their vehicles.

“People were by their cars,” she said. “Once they were made aware, they got back in their cars.”

Yates said resort staff and security quickly began notifying people across the site, including gondola and upper mountain operations, while ensuring visitors did not approach the bear. She said the bear appeared largely unfazed by the people nearby.

“He didn’t look stressed to me,” she said. “It looked like he was kind of just on a mission to get through the parking lot.”

No aggressive behaviour or human-wildlife conflicts were reported.

The sighting comes days before Sunshine Village’s annual Slush Cup event, one of the resort’s busiest weekends that typically draws thousands of visitors.

Bow Valley Insider contacted Sunshine Village for comment regarding the sighting but did not receive a response before publication.