Two People Killed by Grizzly Bear at Banff National Park in Canada

Park officials found the victims early Saturday morning, after receiving an alert from a satellite device hours earlier. A grizzly near the site displayed “aggressive behavior,” they said.

Park authorities in Canada said they received an alert from inside Banff National Park in Alberta, where two people were found dead.

Credit...Geoff Robins/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images


By Livia Albeck-Ripka
Published Oct. 1, 2023Updated Oct. 2, 2023

A grizzly bear is believed to have attacked and killed two people at a national park in southwest Canada, park officials said on Sunday.

Parks Canada said it learned of the attack via an alert sent around 8 p.m. on Friday from a satellite device inside Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, according to a statement shared on the park’s Facebook page.

GPS coordinates showed the alert was sent from west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch in the Red Deer River Valley, around 80 miles northwest of Calgary, Alberta. Bad weather hindered a response team from reaching the site by helicopter, so they instead traveled by ground overnight, officials said.

The team, which specialized in responding to wildlife attacks, arrived at 1 a.m. on Saturday to find the two dead people, as well as a grizzly bear that was displaying “aggressive behavior.” They euthanized the bear on-site “to ensure public safety,” according to the statement. The police arrived at 5 a.m. and helped transport the victims to Sundre, a town about 40 miles east.

The victims have not been named, but the CBC reported that they were a married couple. Kim Titchener, who lives in Edmonton, near Banff National Park, and who is a friend of a close relative of the couple, said their dog had also been killed in the attack. “They were in a very remote area,” Ms. Titchener, a wildlife conflict specialist, said in a phone interview on Sunday.

Parks Canada did not immediately respond to requests for further information about the victims or the attack.

An estimated 691 grizzly bears live in Alberta, 65 of them in Banff National Park, according to Parks Canada, which reminds visitors to be prepared for encounters. It advises traveling in groups, making noise and carrying bear spray. In Alberta, the grizzly bear, a largely solitary, omnivorous animal that can live as long as 30 years in the wild, is listed as “threatened.”

Bear attacks on humans are relatively rare, but they can occur when a bear is feeding, protecting its young or surprised. Attacks that kill more than one person appear to be even rarer.

In January, a polar bear killed a 24-year-old mother and her 1-year-old son in Wales, Alaska. In 2018, a grizzly bear, which the authorities later described as starving, killed a woman and her baby in Yukon, Canada.

Banff National Park described Friday’s attack as a “tragic incident” and expressed its condolences to the families and friends of the victims. As a safety precaution, park authorities closed the Red Deer and Panther valleys until further notice.

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Livia Albeck-Ripka is a reporter for The Times based in California. She was previously a reporter in the Australia bureau. More about Livia Albeck-Ripka

 Calgary

Couple dead after bear attack in Banff National Park, grizzly killed

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The common-law couple were experienced in the backcountry, says family member

Kylee Pedersen · CBC News · Posted: Oct 01, 2023 

Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley on Friday night, indicating a bear attack. (Rick Price Photography)

A grizzly bear attacked and killed two people in Banff National Park west of Sundre, Alta., on Friday night, Parks Canada says.

The people who died were common-law partners, according to a family member of one of the deceased whose name CBC News is choosing to keep confidential until all members of the family have been notified. The couple's dog, who was with them at the time, was also killed. 

"They were long-term partners who loved the outdoors and were inseparable," read a statement from the family member.

"They lived for being in the backcountry and were two of the most cautious people I know. They knew bear protocol and followed it to a tee."

Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch at about 8 p.m. on Friday indicating a bear attack, said Natalie Fay, external relations manager for the Banff field unit.

• 2 grizzlies follow hikers down trail for 20 minutes in Banff National Park

In a statement, Fay said a team specially trained in wildlife attacks was immediately mobilized, but weather hindered their response time.

"Weather conditions at the time did not allow for helicopter use, and the response team travelled through the night to the location by the ground," she said.

"The response team arrived on-site at 1 a.m. and discovered two deceased individuals."

While in the area, the response team encountered a grizzly bear displaying aggressive behaviour, Fay said, leading Parks Canada staff to destroy the animal on-site for public safety.

RCMP arrived at 5 a.m. to transport the victims to Sundre, Alta., she said.

"This is a tragic incident and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims," the statement read. 

Fatal bear attacks rare

Only 14 per cent of grizzly bear attacks worldwide lead to fatalities, said Titchener, making this incident a rare occurrence. 

"Often when people have encounters with grizzlies, usually the grizzly goes one direction and the people go in the other," said Titchener. 

"So we rarely do see cases where we actually have everyone involved killed."

Titchener said that while she doesn't yet know the details of what happened, the majority of bear attacks tend to be caused by surprise run-ins. She added that the couple could have still been hiking or setting up their camp when they came in contact with the bear, and that bears do tend to be more active at dusk.

WATCH | Bears are preparing to hibernate for winter: 

One man and one woman are dead after being mauled by a grizzly bear while hiking in a remote part of Banff National Park, west of Sundre, Alta., says Parks Canada. The couple’s dog was also killed in the attack. Park officials say the bear was later located and destroyed.

"They could have surprised a bear at close range and had an encounter that led to a defensive attack. It's extremely rare to see predatory attacks by grizzly bears, but not unheard of."

According to the family member of one of the deceased, the family received a notification via inReach at 5 p.m. that the couple had camped for the night. 

"They checked in every night," said the family member. "This means they were not travelling after dark and they were not setting up camp when the attack happened."

• Banff's infamous 'Boss' grizzly bluff charges locals, renewing calls for town fruit tree removal

At this time of year, bears are in hyperphagia, said Titchener, a period of increased appetite as bears prepare to hibernate for the winter. While Titchener said there is no relationship between this time frame and increased bear attacks on humans, bears are indeed hungry. 

"They're still trying to dig up root systems and just trying to eat what grasses are left and what berries are still around to get on those last few pounds so that they can start heading to their dens," said Titchener. 

While some bears begin to den in mid-October, larger bears can stay active until December, a reminder that it is still actively bear season across the province, said Titchener.

The attack occurred in the wilderness to the west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch in Banff National Park. (Wallis Snowdon/CBC)

A remote area

Merle Fox and his wife Laurie have managed Sunset Guiding and Outfitting west of Sundre for the last 14 years. Fox said his camp is roughly three hours west of where the attack happened by horseback. 

"Well, I hate to say it, but I wasn't really surprised," Fox said in response to hearing about the attack. 

"Bears are hungry at this time of the year and there are no berries or a thing out there for them this year."

Fox said a late frost in spring froze off all the berry blossoms, leading to a shortage of one of bears' main food groups. He added that faced with a vegetation shortage, grizzly bears will turn to eating deer, young elk, or wild horses instead. 

"I think that's probably why these two people were attacked, is that the bear was hungry and he saw them as an easy target."

While he's not too nervous traversing the area given his experience, Fox said he and his guides often head into the backcountry armed, just in case they do encounter a bear. 

• Bears relocated in Jasper National Park after group poses for selfie with mother, cub

He said the terrain in the area where the attack occurred is made up of steep cliffs, and is only accessible by foot or on horseback. 

The fact that the bear was still in the area when the Parks Canada response team arrived on the scene is "highly unusual", said Titchener, especially if the attack was a defensive one. 

"Usually the attack occurs and then the bear leaves the area," she said. 

"So that of course is concerning and I'm not sure what was going on there, but of course those details will come out as they do the investigation."

Titchener added that one of the reasons Parks Canada responders would kill a bear on-the-spot is if it was behaving aggressively toward them. 

"Obviously they had to take that bear's life so that they could hopefully get to those people. But unfortunately, it was too late."

Bear safety still important

Brushing up on bear safety remains a vital tool for hikers and those participating in outdoor activities, said Titchener. 

She advised that travelling in groups, making noise to let animals know you're in the area and carrying bear spray, are all effective ways to prevent attacks from happening. 

If people see any signs of bears while they are on a trail, including scat, diggings, claw marks or tracks, or if they see an animal carcass or birds circling, they should leave the area immediately, said Titchener.

Titchener said that if people do encounter a bear, they should stay together as a group and pull out their bear spray. She added that taking a bear safety course can help people further understand bear behaviour and determine whether a bear is acting in a defensive or predatory way.

Parks Canada said a closure order is in place around the area where the couple were attacked — including the Red Deer and Panther valleys, from Snow Creek Summit east to the National Park boundary, and north to Shale Pass — until further notice as a safety precaution.

Clarifications

• A previous version of this story said the people who died were husband and wife. A family member has informed CBC News that they were common-law partners.
  Oct 01, 2023 8:37 PM MT

With files from the Canadian Press, Tracy Johnson, Boshika Gupta, Julian Brown and Yvette Brend

Sanctuary's 'Most Traumatized Bear' Is Living a Life 'of Hope and Happiness' a Year After Her Rescue

Kelli Bender
Thu, May 16, 2024 

Dawn the moon bear is thriving at Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary in Vietnam after her rescue from a bear bile farm

Nezahat Sevim/Animals AsiaDawn the moon bear shortly after her rescue in Feb. 2023 (left) and Dawn a year after moving into an Animals Asia sanctuary in Vietnam

Dawn the moon bear spent 20 years living in a cage at a bear bile farm in Vietnam before


Animals Asia rescued Dawn in Feb. 2023 and brought her to a sanctuary where she began the long road to recovery


Dawn was scared, balding, and helpless when she first arrived at the sanctuary but is now thriving over a year after her rescue

Dawn the moon bear is a reminder that every creature deserves a second chance.

On February 22, 2023, Animals Asia rescued Dawn from a bile farm— a facility where a bear's bile is painfully extracted while the animal is confined to a cage — in Phung Thuong, Vietnam.



Before the nonprofit arrived, Dawn spent 20 years in a small cage at the bile farm, undergoing routine bile extractions. Life on the bile farm left Dawn balding, fearful, and emotionally helpless. Animals Asia said the moon bear was "the most traumatized bear" the organization had seen when they rescued her in 2023.

Over a year later, Dawn is one of the happiest bears at Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary in Vietnam. To celebrate Dawn's transformation and May 17's Endangered Species Day, Dame Joanna Lumley created a video with Animal Asia about the resilient moon bear.


In the moving clip, Lumley recounts Dawn's devastating beginnings and the many milestones the bear surpassed to reach where she is today.

"Seeing Dawn's transformation from a life of darkness to one of hope and happiness is a profound reminder of the resilience of those magnificent animals and the power of compassion," Lumley said in a statement. “This video not only tells the story of one bear's journey to freedom but also calls on each of us to act and help end the cruelty of bile farming. I am so proud to stand with Animals Asia, an organization poised to eradicate the centuries-long practice of bile farming in Vietnam and rescue the remaining bile bears in the country. Together, by supporting this vital cause, we can provide these endangered animals with the dignified life they rightfully deserve."



Nezahat Sevim/Animals AsiaDawn the moon bear on the day of her rescue

Animals Asia believes bear bile farmers placed Dawn in a dark, cramped cage when she was a cub and kept the bear there for 20 years until her rescue. When Animals Asia went to transport the cub to its sanctuary, employees found a bear distressed by the sight of humans after a lifetime of neglect.

Dawn exhibited signs of psychological trauma — like head-swaying and a "learned helplessness" that left the moon bear curled up in a tight ball at the slightest provocation. Animals Asia also found evidence of physical injuries, including hypertension, broken teeth, arthritis, an infected gallbladder, and malnourishment.

After 20 years in her tiny cage, Dawn finally left and moved into the quarantine area of Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary, where she stayed for 60 days. Despite having a much larger space, several dedicated caretakers, and plenty of food, Dawn struggled to adapt to her new surroundings at first because of the trauma she endured.

Nezahat Sevim/Animals AsiaDawn smiling during her recovery at Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary

"While she is often calm, engages well with enrichment activities, and will even hand-feed, she can become overwhelmed in certain situations and completely shuts down. In these moments, she retreats to a corner, turns her back to whatever frightens her, tucks her head into her abdomen, curls up into a ball, and visibly flinches at any noises while in this state. It is one of the worst things I have seen in my time here, how incredibly fearful and shut down she is in these situations. Dawn has obviously learned this: no matter what she does, terrible things will keep happening to her," Sarah van Herpt, Animals Asia senior bear team manager, shared after the moon bear arrived at the sanctuary.

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Thankfully, through patience and compassion, the staff at Aniamls Asia taught Dawn that the "terrible things" she went through had ended. In Spring 2023, Dawn started smiling and acting more social with her human caretakers, who worked to gain the bear's trust through rapport-building sessions with lots of treats.

Nezahat Sevim/Animals Asia

Dawn the moon bear making friends with another bear at Animal Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary in Vietnam

Related: Bear Breaks into Calif. Family's Fridge, Steals a Watermelon, and Picnics in the Yard: Watch!

Many more firsts followed Dawn's initial smile. In May 2023, the moon bear was released from the quarantine area and moved into her new den at the sanctuary. Shortly after that, Dawn luxuriated in her first bath. In June 2023, after undergoing dental surgery, Dawn started to eat solid food. In the Summer of 2023, Dawn began making friends with a few other bears at the sanctuary and took her first steps outside.

After all these milestones, Dawn is a far different bear than when she first arrived at Animals Asia's sanctuary in 2023. She has grown back all her fur, exhibits curiosity and playfulness, and trusts that the humans around her are there to care for her—and they are!

Nezahat Sevim/Animals Asia

Dawn the bear taking a bath

Related: Wild Bear Cub Pulled from Tree for Selfies Is 'Doing Well' in N.C. Animal Refuge's Care

"It's hard to believe Dawn is the same frightened little bear who came through the sanctuary gates just over a year ago." Jill Robinson, Animals Asia's founder, said. "Today, she has a life she never dared dream of: grass under her paws, the breeze ruffling her fur, and a love she'd never known warming her heart. Dawn's journey is a testament to the resilience of the spirit and the healing power of kindness."

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Nezahat Sevim/Animals Asia

Dawn enjoying time outside at Animals Asia's Tam Dao sanctuary in Vietnam

Animals Asia is working to bring this kind of happy ending to all the bears stuck in bile farms in Vietnam. In 2017, after years of negotiation with Animals Asia, the Vietnamese government agreed to end bear bile farming and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Animals Asia, naming the charity their official partner in closing the industry.

Since then, Animals Asia has been working to move all the bears remaining on bile farms to its sanctuaries. In November 2023, Animals Asia opened its second sanctuary in Vietnam. Once this sanctuary is full, Animals Asia estimates that no more bears will be trapped in bile farms in Vietnam.

To learn more about Dawn and how to support bears like her, visit Animals Asia's website.

Libcom.orgfiles.libcom.org/files/2023-08/beasts of burden antagonism.pdf

Beasts of Burden: Capitalism - Animals - Communism - Libcom.org

Beasts of. Burden. Capitalism · Animals. Communism as on ent ons. s a een ree. Page 2. Beasts of Burden: Capitalism - Animals -. Communism. Published October ...

'Prehistoric' mummified bear discovered in Siberian permafrost isn't what we thought

Harry Baker
Fri, March 3, 2023 

Close-up of the bear's head.

A perfectly preserved, mummified bear found entombed in the Siberian permafrost in 2020 isn't what scientists thought it was, a new analysis reveals. It turns out that the eerily intact carcass is much younger than first assumed and belongs to an entirely different species.

Reindeer herders unearthed the remains, which include the bear's intact skin, fur, teeth, nose, claws, body fat and internal organs, on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, a remote Russian island located in the East Siberian Sea. Researchers named it the Etherican bear, after the nearby Bolshoy Etherican River.

When the Etherican bear was first uncovered, researchers at the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory at North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU) in Yakutsk, who have led the analysis of the remains, thought that the mummy was an extinct cave bear (Ursus spelaeus). Fossils of this long-lost species suggest that the enormous ancient bears, which are closely related to brown bears (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (Ursus maritimus), grew to around 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) tall and weighed a whopping 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms). U. spelaeus went extinct around 22,000 years ago, toward the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, the coldest part of the last ice age, so the researchers believed that the mummy was at least this old.

However, subsequent analysis revealed that their assumptions about the Etherican bear were way off: In reality, the beast was a brown bear that dated to around 3,460 years ago, the NEFU team said in a statement in December 2022.


Researchers discuss heir findings.


Researchers surround the bear.

Image 3 of 4

The bear's corpse from behind.

Image 4 of 4

A researcher removes the bear's brain.

The NEFU team recently conducted a full necropsy, or animal autopsy, on the Etherican bear, which has revealed even more about the mysterious mummy, Reuters reported.

The bear was a female that was 5.2 feet (1.6 m) tall and weighed around 172 pounds (78 kg), suggesting it was likely around 2 to 3 years old when it died. It is unclear how the bear perished, but its mummy showed signs of significant spinal injuries that likely contributed to its demise.

The Etherican bear was so well preserved that its stomach contents were still partly intact, which revealed that the bear had been dining on a mix of unidentified plants and birds, some of whose feathers were still inside the bear's belly. This fits with what we know about living brown bears that are omnivores, meaning they have a mixed diet of plants and animals.

Researchers sew the bear's skull back up.

The researchers also removed the bear's brain after cutting through its skull, which they hope to study in the future.

One of the biggest remaining mysteries about the Etherican bear is how it ended up on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island.

The island is currently separated from the mainland by around 31 miles (50 kilometers) of water, so the most likely explanation is that brown bears moved to the island when it was still connected by sea ice during the Last Glacial Maximum, according to Reuters. But if this was the case, then researchers would have expected to find many more brown bear remains on the island, which is a hotspot for paleontological treasures, including mammoth remains.

Black Bear Attacks and Kills Man Drinking Morning Coffee in Arizona

Sage Marshall

FIELD & STREAM
Tue, June 20, 2023 

There are around 3,000 black bears in Arizona.

A tragic fatal bear attack recently took place in Arizona's Yavapai County. According to a statement from the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office (YCSO), the unexpected attack took place on the morning of June 16. "At approximately 7:50 this morning, the YCSO dispatch center received multiple 911 calls about a man who was being mauled by a bear in the Groom Creek Area," wrote the agency on the day of the attack. "When YCSO deputies and Prescott PD arrived at the scene, which was in a heavily wooded remote area, they found Steven Jackson, 66 years old of Tucson dead of an apparent bear attack, and the bear dead nearby."

According to several witnesses, Jackson sitting at a table on his property, where he was building a house, having a morning coffee when the bear caught him by surprise, before dragging him 75 feet down an embankment. "Neighbors who heard the victim screaming tried to intervene through shouts and car horns, but the bear did not let go of Jackson until one neighbor was able to retrieve his rifle and shoot the bear," wrote the YCSO. "Unfortunately, by that time Jackson had succumbed to his horrible injuries."

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Fatal black bear attacks are extremely rare—especially ones predatory in nature, which this incident appears to be. Before this one, the most recent fatal black bear attack in the United States took place near Durango in 2021, when a woman was mauled and partially eaten.

In the Arizona attack, the offending bear was an adult male. Officials are still investigating the incident but so far have not found any evidence of unsecured food or cooking items that could have attracted the bear. The site of the attack is not near any camping areas. "Officials at the moment do not have a theory other than a predatory response by the bear," explained the YCSO. "Officials still caution revelers to take precautions when camping, such as locking up food in a vehicle and not leaving out items such as toothpaste that may bring a bear to your campsite."

"Our sincere sympathies go out to Mr. Jackson’s family,” said Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes. “I cannot express how deeply sad this situation is and can only say our prayers are with you.”

Mystery of huge bear that killed Arizona man deepens with new lab report


Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office

Helena Wegner
Wed, June 21, 2023 at 1:02 PM MDT·2 min read

The mystery around an unusual bear attack in Arizona has deepened after wildlife officials released a health report of the dead animal.

A male black bear attacked 66-year-old Steven Jackson as he was drinking coffee and dragged him 75 feet down an embankment June 16, in the Groom Creek area near Prescott, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Wildlife officials called the fatal mauling unusual and “predatory in nature.”

A necropsy was conducted on the 365-pound animal, which officials estimated being 7 to 10 years old, the Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a June 21 news release.

The bear was determined to be in “good condition with no apparent signs of disease,” according to Dr. Anne Justice-Allen, a wildlife veterinarian who performed the examination.

Human remains, vegetation and seeds were found in the bear’s stomach, wildlife officials said. Its body fat also pointed to it being in “good nutritional condition.”

And the bear tested negative for rabies, officials said. A bear last tested positive for rabies in Arizona in 1971, according to Arizona Game and Fish.

Lastly, the report determined the animal’s cause of death was from multiple gunshot wounds. A neighbor heard Jackson screaming and shot the animal dead, officials said.

Alberta workers need better protection from bears, inquiry into 2014 Suncor death finds

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Lorna Weafer, 36, of Fort McMurray was fatally attacked by a bear at a Suncor site

Jamie Malbeuf · CBC News · Posted: Nov 22, 2021 4:48 PM MT | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

Lorna Weafer was 36 when she was killed by a bear near Fort McMurray. (Supplied)

A provincial court judge has made four recommendations to improve bear safety for workers after a woman was mauled to death at an oilsands site in 2014.

Judge James Jacques wrote the recommendations after a public fatality inquiry held last June in Fort McMurray. His report was made public Monday.

In 2014, Lorna Weafer was an electrical and instrumentation technician working at a Suncor worksite known as La Bodega, north of Fort McMurray.

Around 2 p.m. on May 7 of that year, the 36-year-old was fatally mauled by a large male cinnamon-coloured black bear while walking from a washroom facility to a shop building.

Weafer screamed for help and her co-workers tried to drive the bear away while the bear dragged her into the nearby forest. The co-workers were throwing rocks, clamps and metal bars, but "failed to deter him," Jacques said in his report.

The plant's emergency services team arrived and drove the bear away with a water cannon. 

"By that time it was apparent that Ms. Weafer was no longer alive," wrote Jacques. 

RCMP arrived and shot the bear with a rifle as it was trying to return to Weafer's body. 

The bear's behaviour and necropsy showed that it was a predatory attack, Jacques said in his report.

He noted that there had been two other bear sightings in the area the previous month.

• Lorna Weafer, bear attack victim, aspired to be a psychologist
• Lorna Weafer's Suncor co-workers tried to fend off killer bear

Several preventative measures were discussed during the inquiry, including bear education, personal deterrents, the use of guns, electrified fences and provincial standards for bear safety. 

Jacques made four recommendations:

• Make bear safety training mandatory for people working in areas near bear habitats, even if they are not working in the forest.
• Introduce electric fences when possible to prevent bears from interacting with people. 
• Workers in high-risk areas should be trained in and given deterrents such as bear spray. 
• The province should consider introducing bear safety standards for industry.

Guns would create other hazards: judge

At the time Weafer was attacked, there were no firearms available to her co-workers. 

Jacques discussed the use of guns in his report. He wrote that using a firearm can have additional dangers, like accidentally hitting the victim. 

"It would require excellent marksmanship or a very close approach to the animal, and anyone attempting it would undoubtedly feel a great weight of responsibility," the report says.

At the inquiry, Weafer's father had said that someone being attacked would want someone to try to kill the bear with a gun.

Jacques wrote that having at least one person armed at each Suncor site would "create safety hazards of its own … In an operation as large as the Suncor plant, this option is not practicable." 

The judge also explored the possibility of having a locked weapon on site, instead of an armed guard. But he said it would create "logistical issues."

There would need to be a trained employee at each site, entrusted with the keys for the weapon and ammunition. It would again, "exacerbate safety issues," Jacques wrote.

The judge said that he was unable to make any recommendations regarding the use of firearms in the context of the incident that led to Weafer's death.

Since Weafer's death Suncor has put in and improved many wildlife protocols, Suncor spokesperson Sneh Seetal said Monday.

That includes hiring an onsite wildlife contractor for bear surveillance and monitoring, expanding safety training and introducing wildlife advisories and alerts, Seetal said.

Some employees carry bear spray. There is also fencing in some areas, where feasible. 

Seetal said there have been no other maulings or incidents with bears since 2014. 

"Our top priority is always the safety of our people," said Seetal.

In an email, Joseph Dow, press secretary for Labour Minister Tyler Shandro, said there have been "no potentially serious incidents, reportable incidents or Workers' Compensation Benefit claims in the past five years related  to bears."

Many employers in the Wood Buffalo region have put in bear safety protocols that align with Occupational Health and Safety laws, Dow said.

‘Insane’ black bear fight caught on video in Yukon wilderness

Pete Thomas
Mon, June 10, 2024



Do bears practice MMA in the woods?

The accompanying footage, captured recently in Canada’s Yukon Territory, shows two massive black bears fighting on a wilderness road.

“Bearing witness to one of nature’s rarest sights,” hunting outfitter Jim Shockey exclaimed via X. “The spring rut is in full swing, and the big boars are on the warpath.”

The ferocious bout includes roundhouse punches and wrestling techniques as each bruin attempts to gain the upper hand.



“Bear closest to the camera has got a serious right hook,” one follower observed. “Ducks when he throws it, too, my money’s on him.”

The footage was credited to Rogue River Outfitters Yukon, which apparently led the May 2 expedition.

“INSANE BLACK BEAR FIGHT!” the company exclaimed, describing the confrontation as a territorial dispute. “The speed and power is mind-blowing. You can see some of the blows delivered knock each other off their feet.”

Adult male black bears can weigh 500-plus pounds and stand 7 feet tall on their hind legs, so any battle between fully grown bears is a heavyweight match.

Rogue River Outfitters Yukon added:

“Fights like this are rare to observe but they do happen frequently, especially in areas where the density of bears is high. The wars are more intense if the food supply is limited or during the mating season.”

The soundless footage was captured through the vehicle’s windshield.

RIP 

SPIRIT ANIMAL

Parks Canada officials devastated to report white grizzly, known as Nakoda, has died
CBC
Mon, June 10, 2024 at 2:57 p.m. MDT·4 min read


Bear 178 is known by locals as Nakoda. (Submitted by Gary Tattersall - image credit)


After hopes that Bear 178 would walk off her injuries and survive the car crash that left the grizzly limping, the bear affectionately known as Nakoda has died in Yoho National Park, in southeastern B.C., Parks Canada officials confirm.

On the evening of June 6, as wildlife management staff were repairing fencing along the Trans-Canada Highway, roughly 12 kilometres west of Lake Louise, they attempted "to encourage the bear to spend time away from the roadside," a Parks Canada statement said.

Bear 178 was then reportedly startled by a train, causing her to run onto the road in the path of two vehicles.

"One vehicle was able to swerve and avoid a collision, but a second vehicle was unable to react in time and struck the bear," said a Parks Canada spokesperson.

The incident occurred approximately 12 hours after the bear's two cubs were struck and killed on the highway early that morning.

The bear was known for her agility, striking platinum blond fur with a dark stripe along her back, and frequent roadside sightings, especially in the spring and early summer when dandelions line the Trans-Canada Highway ditches.

After she was hit, wildlife managers saw Nakoda climb a fence and run into the woods with a slight limp. On Saturday, June 8, the bear's GPS collar sent a mortality signal, meaning the device had been stationary for 24 hours. The wildlife management team then confirmed the bear's death, suspecting she had "succumbed to internal injuries related to the collision."

Popular on social media

Nakoda's frequent roadside visits made the bear popular on social media, but parks officials said it also made her too comfortable with humans.

"It is an unfortunate reality that bears that become habituated to people often have negative outcomes," said Saundi Stevens, Parks Canada's wildlife management specialist with the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay field unit, in a news conference on Monday.

Parks Canada's wildlife management team spent countless hours managing Nakoda, work that entailed following the bear from dawn to dusk.

"The team has developed a strong fondness and connection with GBF178, and her death has been devastating for the team that was so deeply invested in trying to prevent this outcome," read the statement.

Stevens said Parks Canada implemented a no-stopping zone and speed reduction in the area where the bear and her cubs were spotted along the highway earlier this spring.

While speculation on social media has pointed to the bear returning to the spot where her cubs were hit to grieve them, Stevens said this is not necessarily the case.

"This is an example of anthropomorphizing bear behaviour. In reality, bears often eat their deceased young, which humans might not see as an act of mourning.

"On that day, our wildlife management specialist observed Grizzly 178 along the highway several times between the incident where her cubs were struck that morning and between the time that she was herself struck later that day," she said.

"In all those incidents, she never displayed any signs of distress. She wasn't running back and forth across the highway. She was observed each and every time foraging for dandelions along the roadside in the ditch.

"Just a behaviour that was really typical for her."

Bear 178 is pictured with her two cubs, who were killed after being struck by a car less than a day before she was.

Bear 178 is pictured with her two cubs, who were killed after being struck by a car less than a day before she was. (Parks Canada)

Over the years, Nakoda's climbing and road-side antics required many interventions.

In 2022, she was relocated within her home range because of the time she was spending near the highway and near train tracks.

A year later, Parks Canada put up 15 kilometres of electric wiring on fences west of Lake Louise into the Yoho park boundary, partially to stop the white bear from climbing over.

No time to respond

In May 2024, Bear 178 was spotted in Yoho with her cubs, frequenting the highway again. When they returned on June 5, Stevens said her team had limited time to consider how to respond before the incident occurred.

"We just didn't even have a chance to consider [relocation], but by and large, we probably wouldn't have even chosen that as an option because capturing a family group of bears is really difficult and it comes with a high amount of risk; risk of moving a mother bear with cubs into another bear's territory, risk of immobilizing a mother bear that … has young cubs to nurse, the risk of injuring a cub."

Stevens said Parks Canada will continue maintaining wildlife fences lining the highway, and using electrified fences as a tool to keep bears and other wildlife off the highway.

She also emphasized that visitors to the park should not stop to view wildlife, should drive cautiously and obey speed limits.

Save Our Grizzly Bears

In Alberta the government continues to allow the sport hunting of these endangered animals, for no good reason except it brings in big bucks for some outfitter pals of King Ralph. Of course humans are responsible for their decline, we are their only natural enemies. And as the government allows for recreational expansion into the wilderness, their territory is threatened. And they will come in contact with humans who insist on colonizing the wilderness for their 'enjoyment'.


Humans leading cause of death for grizzlies, report finds
Last Updated Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:31:41 EDT
CBC News

The main cause of death for grizzlies living in the Rockies is their interaction with humans, an 11-year study into the bears' population trends has found.

The Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project tracked bears living in the Banff and Kananaskis areas for more than a decade. Only one-quarter of female grizzlies and just over 10 per cent of male grizzlies die of natural causes, the study's authors found.

Human interaction, either directly or indirectly, is the main cause of death, Stephen Herrero, a professor of environmental design with the University of Calgary, said. Alberta has closed trails this summer to protect people from grizzly bear attacks.

Their habitat is being eroded, the bears are getting hit by cars, they're hunted – both legally and illegally – and when the animals become a serious enough problem in an area they're either shot or moved to another location.

As well, researchers found the annual birth-rate for bears in Banff and Kananaskis is the lowest in North America. Grizzlies are being driven from their most productive habitats and are, literally, eating garbage.

Poor nutrition is a contributing factor to the low birth rate, the report's authors said. When bears live so close to people, it's easier for them to dine at the local dump than in alpine meadows, the researchers said. Herrero advocates programs to address food and garbage attractants to prevent grizzlies from getting into trouble.

He's also in favour of having the bears' status changed to "threatened" in Alberta. The change would mean no hunting, and greater restrictions on road construction in grizzly habitat.

"Grizzly bear hunting can be maintained sustainably, but it can only be maintained sustainably if we put it in a context of addressing all the other causes of mortality," he said.

No it can't. There should be no bear hunting period. As Liberal opposition critic Bill Bonko has said:Liberal Critic Calls for Greater Protection for Grizzly Habitat

It's up to governments to decide what price they're willing to pay to make sure grizzlies survive in the Rocky Mountains, such as closing recreational trails for a few days or shutting off large tracts of land from oil and gas activity, forestry, coal mining or other industry, he said.

That's a cop out, the Klein government will take industrial development over protecting wildlife any day. That's why they opened up Kananaskis in the first place, for the Winter games and a golf course. Yep get out and enjoy the wilderness while putting around.

"Bears are under more pressure now than ever," agreed Nigel Douglas of the Alberta Wilderness Association. "We're sort of pushing and pushing and pushing the places where bears live. And some time we need to start saying enough's enough, and we need to take a step back and leave some room for the bears."

* FROM JULY 6, 2005: Alberta closes trails to keep people away from bears

Last week, the province moved to close a number of trails in provincial parks around Canmore and Kananaskis, saying they wanted to keep people away from bear habitats.

A Canmore woman was killed in early June when she was attacked by a grizzly while out running near a golf course.

Yes she was running in an area that had been blocked off due to the fact that Grizzly bears were out and about in the area. Being arrogant she and her friends ignored the signs and the result was she was killed. Being a young bruin the bear didn't know that the golf course was off limits.

The province said the decision to close the trails and allow them to grow over was not triggered by the mauling death of a jogger last month. On June 5, Isabelle Dube was running with two friends near the Silver Tip Golf Course in Canmore when they encountered a grizzly. Her friends backed away, while Dube, a 36-year-old mother of two, climbed a tree. When wildlife officers reached the scene, Dube had been killed. Those who knew her said Dube, a competitive mountain biker, would not want to see the trails closed.The province said 200 kilometres of trails in parks in the Canmore area will remain open for walkers, runners and cyclists.

As usual some of the community expressed the speciesism that given a choice between humans and bears they supported humans being stupid. Like those who still insist it is their god given right to trespass in Grizzly territory, for their Olympic aspirations, and their Olympian egos.

What part of Wild in Wilderness don't these little colonialists understand?

Not all of the citizens in Canmore are anti-bear, there is a campaign going on to actually make Canmore bear friendly.

Was killer Canmore handled properly?

The headline in today’s (June 7, 2005) Calgary Herald – “Was the killer bear handled properly?” – only hints at the complexity of factors that led to the tragic deaths of Isabelle Dubé and Bear #99 last Sunday. The real question, and answer, may rely less on handling bears than it does on handling people and human development.

And of course as a result of ignoring the warning that the trail was closed, resulted in the useless death of the Grizzly. Why, cause he was being a wild animal of course. And not a particulary aggressive one. But he got killed for having reacted to something these humans did, including being where they should not have been.

A wildlife officer, accompanied by one of the women, returned to the site of the attack, where the officer killed the bear with a single shot.
Bear relocated in May
Fish and Wildlife officials said the 90-kilogram, four-year-old male bear had been captured and moved out of the area at the end of May, after continually visiting the golf course and after it approached a woman. The woman and her small dog backed away slowly and the bear left.The bear was relocated not because of any aggressive behaviour, but as a way of discouraging it from approaching populated areas, said Ealey. With wildlife officers tracking it, the bear travelled from Banff National Park back to the Canmore area – about 15 kilometres over rugged terrain – in a few days.Ealey said the bear hadn't shown any aggressive behaviours since it returned. "The bear was not aggressive, it behaved as a bear its typical age and sex would," Ealey said when asked why the bear hadn't been moved farther away. The grizzly was kept within its home range, Ealey added. Dube was the first person killed by a bear in Alberta since 1998.

The grizzly that killed Dube. (photo: Craig Douce, Rocky Mountain Outlook)



As Bonko points out the problem is colonialist expansion in the Rockies;
"Bonko is concerned that the incursion of industrial development into natural habitat areas is driving grizzlies from their natural homes into human-populated areas, increasing the possibility of incidents between humans and grizzlies.

“It’s this government’s policies that have allowed for large-scale industrial development into these natural areas,” said Bonko. “The government now needs to take the responsible, proactive approach and set some guidelines to ensure our natural areas and our wildlife are not endangered by unsustainable human activity.”

A recent study conducted by a wildlife biologist at the U of A in the Bow Valley area indicates wildlife corridors constructed to reduce the impact of development on grizzlies have failed to control human-grizzly contact.

Bonko said the government needs to come up with a better solution for reducing the possibility of human-grizzly contact in places like Canmore, where unrestrained development has led to increased contact between humans and grizzlies.

“The government continues to favour industrial development over the protection of wildlife habitat,” said Bonko. “Unrestrained development with little to no protection for wildlife species will inevitably lead to the extinction of our threatened species.”

Grizzly's aren't as cute as cuddly seals, so the Green NGO's won't being using them as the poster child for their activism. Grizzlies can fight back and the Green NGO's like helpless victims for their fund raising campigns. The Save the Grizzly campaigns have been a mere whimper in comparison to the sturm and drang raised over the seal hunt. Lets see 700 bears vs. 300,000 seals which do you think will become extinct first?

Liberal MLA Bonko followed up on my suggestion on how we can challenge the Grizzly hunt;

Liberal SRD Critic Encourages Grizzly Bear Lovers to Get Hunting Licenses

01 March 2005
Edmonton – Alberta Liberal Sustainable Resource Development critic Bill Bonko is urging all Albertans concerned with protecting the grizzly bear population in Alberta to join him in entering the draw to receive a grizzly bear hunting license this Thursday.

Bonko wants thousands of grizzly bear lovers to enter the draw in the hopes that they receive the licenses and quickly destroy them upon receipt. The government has approved the issuing of 73 licenses for this year despite repeated warnings from their own scientists, as well as conservation groups, warning the government the grizzly bear population in Alberta should not be subject to another hunt.

”If every Albertan who expressed an interest in saving the grizzly bear population entered the draw for a license, the chances of an actual bear hunter receiving one would be greatly diminished,” said Bonko. “If the government refuses to save the grizzly bear population in this province, then this is what we need to do.”

Bonko has made repeated calls for the government to immediately suspend the grizzly bear hunt and implement a recovery strategy to ensure that the number of grizzly bears reaches an acceptable level.

It costs $3.25 to enter the draw for the license and $48.50 to receive the license if selected. Bonko thinks that is a small price to pay to help protect the grizzly bear population in Alberta. ”To mark the price of a grizzly bear’s life at $50 is nominal,” said Bonko. “It is a small price to pay to keep a priceless member of Alberta’s wildlife alive.”

The deadline to enter the grizzly bear license draw is at the end of business hours on Thursday, March 3. You can enter the draw at specified sporting goods and registrations outlets.

Fifty Bucks to kill a Grizzly, Fifty Bucks, is that all? That's disgraceful when you consider what outfitters charge to profit off the kill. $50 and you can help save the Grizzly. Get a license and don't use it. And while you are at it donate another $50 to Save the Grizzly Campaign.

And the reasons the government gives for allowing the hunting of an endangered species?

David Coutts’ Top 8 reasons to continue the grizzly hunt

5. Hunting harvest provides information about bears (e.g., data on distribution and age).

6. Hunting maintains a knowledgeable group of people who are strong advocates for Alberta's grizzly population.

7. Hunters, through licence fees, contribute financially to conservation and management of grizzlies.

8. There is a long-standing hunting tradition and a high demand.

Oh right kill the bears and be advocates for them thats rich, provide information on them, how about just tagging them, your $5o contributes to conservation...right....and finally there is a hunting tradition, really I thought Alberta was all about farming and resource extraction, and high demand, yeah from whom?

Spring grizzly hunt claims 10 bears in Alberta -- six more than last year

Ten grizzly bears were shot and killed during Alberta's controversial spring hunt, according to new statistics. Of the 10 bears killed in the April 1 to May 31 hunt, six were males and four were females. That compares to six grizzlies killed in the 2004 spring hunt and 18 the year before. "It's not as bad as some previous years, but it's still 10 bears out of a pretty small population, so that's a big concern," said Nigel Douglas, conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association. There are about 700 grizzly bears in Alberta. Officials with the Alberta Fish and Game Association say that this spring's harvest shows hunters are not having a major impact on the population.

Aha, the Grizzly hunt is supported by the AFGA, which posts a picture of a big horn sheep and a bear on the front page of their website. Not deer, or other wild animal that can be used for food, but sport hunting/trophy hunting animals, a big horn and a bear. They claim of course that the bears like other wildlife are a 'natural resource', a commodity by any other name. And that their hunting is a cull that helps stabilize the Grizzly population.

14,000 hunters and fishermen can't be wrong, right? After all they are only 0.01% of the provincial population. That's hardly heavy demand.Especially since not all of them hunt, or hunt Grizzly. We wouldn't want to spoil their fun hunting for sport not food. Which is what bear hunting is. Hmmm I wonder if we culled the hunters what they would say about it being an effective way of conserving their population.

AFGA also promotes the hunting of other endangered species such as black bears, foxes and wolves. In Alberta you don't need to be a trained to hunt.

Not all first time hunters are required to successfully complete a Hunter Education Course in order to be eligible to hold a recreational hunting licence in Alberta. A person may be eligible because they have held a licence authorizing recreational hunting in Alberta or elsewhere, or may have passed the first time hunter test, or may be a non-resident (Canadian) or non-resident alien who is exempt from these requirements if they are hunting with a licenced guide or hunter host.
Government response to AGFA resolution on hunter eductation.

Hansard March 3, 2005

Grizzly Bear Hunt

Mr. Bonko: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today marks the deadline for applications to be included in the random draw for the spring grizzly bear hunt to commence this April. This hunt is being continued despite the warnings of the government’s own grizzly bear recovery team as well as the warnings of conservation groups which call for the spring bear hunt to be postponed due to the low numbers of grizzly bears in Alberta. To the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development: why is this government refusing to listen to the findings of their own experts and allowing the grizzly bear hunt to continue?

Cause it's a one party state and they can do what they want to, do what they want to they want to. Why the Alberta government won’t protect its grizzly bears

California officials say 500-pound bear that broke into 38 homes must be killed

Bear League, an advocacy group, told the outlet that euthanizing the bear is unnecessary and cruel.

Asha C. Gilbert, USA TODAY
Thu, February 17, 2022, 

A search has started for a 500-pound bear in California after it broke into homes, but an advocacy group doesn't want the animal to be killed.

CBS 13 reports the bear has broken into 38 homes in South Lake Tahoe, resulting in more than 150 calls to police. And now the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says there is only one option to resolve the issue: Killing the bear.

Bear League, an advocacy group, told the outlet that euthanizing the bear is unnecessary and cruel.

“He’s always lived his life in that area,” Ann Bryant, executive director of the Bear League, told CBS 13. “We don’t want anybody to get hurt. Nobody wants that. We don’t want the bear to die either.”

As word spread about the plans to have the bear killed, some residents disagreed with Fish and Wildlife's stance and sided with the Bear League.

"They do not want the bear to pay the price for human ignorance. So when a bear is set to die in their community, people take a stand,” Bryant said.

Attempts to trap the bear have failed so far. The Bear League hopes to have the animal relocated to a sanctuary in Colorado.

"The Bear League reached out to the director of an excellent out-of-state wildlife sanctuary, who agreed he has room and would be very willing to give this bear a permanent home," Bryant told KCRA.

According to KCRA, the Department of Wildlife isn't sure that plan will work because black bears can't be imported into Colorado without permits and approval from the state's parks and wildlife agency.

Until the bear is captured, the department wants anyone who spots the animal to call law enforcement or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.