Watch the Legendary Grizzly Known as “Boss” Chase His Rival Down a Highway

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This short sequence could be the opening scene from a gangster movie. We see one of the stars, ‘The Boss’, swaggering down the highway – totally in command of the situation. Just ahead is “Split Lip,” another grizzly bear with a fearsome reputation for attacking and eating other bears. But even he does not dare to take “The Boss” on. His rival keeps glancing around to make sure that “The Boss” is not gaining on him. With names like this, it’s no surprise that these guys have quite a reputation in Bow Valley Parkway in the Canadian Rockies.

The Banff Bears

The Banff bears are very well known in the area and have been featured in news articles. “The Boss” has an official name, which is Bear No.122 but we prefer his nickname. This guy is tough. He has survived a collision with a train and is the dominant grizzly bear in the Banff National Park. He weighs around 700 pounds and there are reports of him attacking and eating a black bear. He is over 20 years old and DNA tests show that he is the father of most of the young bears in the area. As the dominant male, he has the mating rights with all the females.

However, there is a rival for his position and there have been many battles with “Split Lip” otherwise known as Bear No.136. He is also a ferocious bear and there are several reports of him attacking and eating other bears.

Grizzly Bear Behavior

Male grizzly bears can fight to work out who is the dominant male. These fights look impressive because the animals are so large and they can get injured but fatal injuries are rare.

They live in the forests and mountainous regions of North America. These bears have large heads but small, round ears, and short tails. They also have a muscular hump on their upper back and this provides the strength for digging. A male needs a territory of over 500 square miles but ‘The Boss’ has an area of closer to 900 square miles which indicates his dominance.

The reports of these two grizzly males eating other bears are quite unusual. Most survive on a predominantly plant-based diet. They like berries, grass, and mushrooms. Some eat insects and smaller animals like mice but occasionally they will kill a deer or elk. They need 90 pounds of food a day!