Wildlife

Book 'Em, Danno (and Mind Those Antlers)
In Banff, an unusual APB: suspect last seen on the 18th green

By Jake Brooks

"We fertilize the grass, and we let them eat it," says Don Howe, president of Banff Springs Golf Club. "They've got a pretty good deal." He is referring to the dense herds of elk that have been treating this Alberta town as a predator-free health spa for more than 25 years. Recently, however, the town's 500 pampered herbivores have been shunning benign pastimes such as munching on people's lawns in favor of behavior more typically associated with biker gangs. During the past year, Banff's elk have been cited for 70 "aggressive incidents" in which they bruised, bullied, or terrorized their human neighbors. "It's just a matter of time before they kill someone," says Laird Elliott, whose son Luke, 3, was trampled by a cow in his backyard (he sustained no serious injuries).

Much of the action has centered around the Banff Springs Hotel golf course, whose lush greens have hosted a number of confrontations such as the one in which retired businessman Rob Crosby found himself in a standoff with a bull on the 18th fairway. ("He threatened me with his antlers, so I threatened him with my five wood," recalls Crosby, 77, who backed away, continued the hole, and wound up with a bogey.)

This winter, authorities have decided to fight back. Their brainstorm? Closing the golf course to humans and seeding it with roadkill in the hopes of luring a pack of wolves from surrounding Banff National Park — a herd-culling plan that has some residents wondering who's really at the top of the food chain. "This," says Mike McIvor, president of a local conservation organization, "is ridiculous."

Illustration by Greg Clarke