A Calgary man was gored to death on Sunday morning by what police believe was a bison near Pincher Creek, Alta.

Keith Conrad, 71, left a friend's house to go for an early morning walk on the Shell Loop Road about 30 kilometres southwest of Pincher Creek when the incident occurred, RCMP said in a release. Pincher Creek is about 210 kilometres south of Calgary.

"During that time it is believed he encountered a bison which was on a grazing lease that the road passes through," police said.

Conrad, who practised law for 20 years and worked in the oil industry before retiring, sustained a single major penetrating wound to the lower abdomen as well as trauma to his head — injuries police said were consistent with a goring by a horned animal.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by local ambulance staff who received the call at 8:45 a.m. local time.

No criminal charges are expected against the bison's owner, who plans to put the animal down, police said.

There were no witnesses to the incident, police said.