KANANASKIS – A mama grizzly bear defending and protecting her cub attacked a 61-year-old man last week when he unwittingly got too close while hiking in a remote area on his own.
Officials with Alberta Environment and Parks said the man was lucky to escape with a bite mark to his elbow in the close encounter that occurred Tuesday (Sept. 29) near Pasque Mountain at the southern end of Kananaskis Country.
Paul Frame, provincial carnivore specialist with AEP, said the hiker was “very lucky” and was able to walk himself to his vehicle, which was about 30 minutes away, and drive himself to hospital.
“At a certain point, he sees a brown thing flash out of his peripheral vision, and then there was the mother bear three metres away from him,” Frame said, noting the flash was the cub darting away.
“The mother bear swatted him and knocked him down. He put his arm up, and it grabbed him by the elbow, bit him. He played dead, the bear dropped him and ran off, and he laid there for 10 minutes.”
Experts say that playing dead will work if you're being attacked by a mother grizzly defending her cubs, but it’s considered the wrong thing to do if attacked by a predatory bear.
In this case, Frame said the hiker did the right thing and lying still and pretending to be dead probably prevented him from getting more serious injuries – or even worse.
“A female bear with a cub is going to attack defending her cub, and as soon as you’re not a threat anymore, then she’s going to go try and find that cub,” he said.
“She’s not attacking because she wants to eat the person or anything like that, it’s generally just ‘leave us alone.’ ”
The hiker had gone off the trail into a logging cutblock where the bears were feasting on late season vegetation.
“He was was paying attention to where he was putting his feet because there was lots of deadfall on the ground and he wanted to be careful,” said Frame. “He didn’t notice the bear until it was there.”
AEP enforcement staff, who went to investigate after the attack, immediately closed down a large area to public access to give the bears space and security and for public safety reasons.
Because of the nature of the attack with the female bear defending her cub, Frame said the female bear and her cub are being left alone.
“It’s a pretty remote area and there’s no need to do anything,” he said.
The hiker, believed to be an experienced outdoorsman, was carrying bear spray, but Frame said it was in a side compartment of his backpack when the bear attacked.
“Bear spray really needs to be accessible, like immediately accessible,” he said.
“It’s really important to have that bear spray where you can reach it.”
The province did not disclose where the hiker is from.
With bears still out and about before heading onto winter’s hibernation, outdoor enthusiasts are encouraged to take all other necessary precautions in bear country – travel in groups, be aware of surroundings, keep dogs on leash and make lots of noise.
“Be situationally aware and know you can encounter a bear anywhere, anytime,” said Frame.
“Bears are really focused on feeding right now, so you can – as this guy did – get really close to one before they’re going to hear you.”
