Native to Canada’s Banff National Park, the massive grizzly bear that was appointed the nickname ‘The Boss’ has an extremely impressive life story as the oldest resident of the wilderness area, and clearly one of the most dominant.
‘The Boss’: World’s Toughest Bear
A grizzly bear in Banff National Park, located in Alberta, Canada, has become very well-known over the years for its impressive size and ability to survive in the wild.
While grizzly bears typically live around 20-25 years, this particular grizzly bear, ‘The Boss’, officially named Bear 122, is now over 20 years old already.
Even though this grizzly is a whopping 600 pounds, and humans have been warned to stay clear in case. There have so far been no reported incidents of any human-related attacks or incidents.
Photographer Jason Leo Bantle was able to capture pictures of the wild beast while backtracking the creature’s steps in the forest.
Bantle reported to the Daily Star UK that ‘The Boss’ is often found roaming by the train tracks rummaging for spilled grains and dead animals (maybe this is how he wound up getting hit by a train).
Watch the video below from Global News to see more of the photographer’s view of this humongous yet graceful creature, who can be recognized by a corner on the top of his right ear that’s missing.
Impressive Feats
Some animals tend to struggle in highly populated human areas, however, ‘The Boss’ has proved how he can withstand tough conditions to roam free and stay on top of his surroundings.
The beast somehow managed to survive a train hitting him, which could probably be attributed to his huge size and weight.
‘The Boss’, a nickname that has also been given to singer Bruce Springsteen, has also attacked and killed other bears that stand in his way, as well as even eating a smaller black bear.
In 2013, some hikers discovered the grizzly with the remains of an animal, which was found to be a small black bear. The trail was closed off for the remainder of the day to ensure hikers’ safety.
Park officials later discovered, when the trail reopened and ‘The Boss’ was gone, that the remains of the animal were a small black bear, which had been eaten by the much larger grizzly.
The National Post reports that not very much of the black bear was left, just a skull, some bones, and the four paws of the animal.
Clearly not much is a match for ‘The Boss’, who has proven himself to be atop of the food chain in the Alberta National Park. This grizzly is a true testament to bear toughness.
Additionally, it is estimated that ‘The Boss’ is the father to more than 70% of cubs in the Banff National Park area, a perfect picture of being an alpha male.
Similar Instances
If you’re interested in learning about similar animal endeavors, the movie Cocaine Bear is loosely based on a true story about a bear who accidentally got its hands on some cocaine left in a forest.
While the movie exaggerates the real-life story to include more gore and thrill, it is a partially true story about a black bear that was high off of cocaine in the 1980s.
In 1985, a 175-pound black bear that was sometimes known as ‘Cokey the Bear’, was found dead in northern Georgia mountains after ingesting cocaine that was dropped from a plane being used to smuggle the illegal substance.
Both of these incidents on bears reveal what they are really capable of, or not, out in the wild.
Stay tuned for more awe-inspiring animal stories in the future.
