As we head into Fat Bear Week, here’s a bear story from Saturday. Despite the slightly humorous title, there is more than a bit of truth in it. As a couple in Canada just found out.
From Reuters:
A grizzly bear attacked and killed two people and their dog in Alberta’s Banff National Park, according to Canadian park officials and a friend of the victims.
Parks Canada said in a statement on Saturday night it had received an alert late Friday from a GPS device indicating a bear attack in the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch in Banff National Park.
The bear was later euthanized after it displayed aggressive behavior, the agency said.
The victims were a Canadian couple and their dog, according to Kim Titchener, the founder of Bear Safety and More and also a friend of the family.
Titchener, who provides training on bear safety and bear assessments, said such encounters are increasing as more people head outdoors but fatal attacks are extremely rare. . .
Parks Canada said its rescue team had to travel by ground through the night to the location as weather conditions at the time did not allow for helicopter use.
The response team arrived on-site during the early hours of Saturday where they discovered two deceased individuals, the agency said.
An area closure around Red Deer and Panther valleys has been implemented and will remain in place until further notice, Parks Canada said.
As many of us head to the woods this fall, either for hunting or just leaf peeping, it’s high time for a friendly reminder for those who venture into bear country; Bears can and will kill you.
The best deterrent to bear encounters is avoidance. Use a bear bell in bear country. Put one on your dog too. Generally bears don’t want anything to do with humans (smart that, I try to avoid people as well) and will avoid us if possible. Having a bell lets the bears know you’re in the neighborhood and allows them to skedaddle.
The next best option is bear spray. Similar to pepper spray or Mace, bear spray is an oleoresin capsicum based aerosol. However, instead of the single stream of pepper spray, bear spray comes out in a wide spray. It is also considerably more potent, having 2% capsaicin compared to the average of 1% in pepper sprays. There is some debate about the effectiveness of bear spray, however it’s worked well for me on Black bears. I’ve had several encounters with that species in the Adirondacks over the years, and had to use spray two or three times.
Finally there are firearms. I say that because shooting a bear should be your very last option. It is clearly the last option for the bear and can land you in hot water. In Alaska, for example, if you shoot and kill a bear in self-defense, the state conducts a very thorough investigation into the shooting and all the circumstances surrounding the event. If the investigators determine the shooting could have reasonably been avoided, you could be on the hook for the cost of the bear and potentially some jail time. Better to avoid the situation in the first place.
One more note on the use of firearms for bear defence, be sure to bring enough gun. Despite my conclusions on carry calibers, 9mm is not enough for bears. Whenever I’m in the back country in the ‘dacks I carry a 10mm or a .357 magnum. Most deer caliber rifles are fine, although I wouldn’t purposely hunt any North American bear with a .243/6mm.