A female grizzly bear that attacked two men on off-road vehicles in the Ghost area is being left alone to look after her two cubs.
The two men, one on a quad and the other on a dirt bike, rode over a hill Aug. 29 at about 8 p.m. and surprised a mother grizzly and her cubs. One of the men managed to fend off the bear with bear spray.
Officials say the bear knocked both men off their vehicles.
“Both the guys and the bears were obviously surprised at having run into each other and the bear attacked to try to defend her cubs,” said Brendan Cox, a spokesman for Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers.
“We’ve concluded the mother bear reacted naturally. She was protecting her cubs. She’s not a predatory threat to humans, and therefore officers will not be pursuing these bears.”
A 31-year-old man sustained serious injuries and was flown by STARS to Calgary’s Foothills Hospital where he has undergone surgery. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Adam Loria, an EMS public education officer with Alberta Health Services, said paramedic crews found an adult male in his early 50s suffering from minor soft-tissue injuries. He was assessed and did not require transport to hospital.
He said STARS had already taken the other man to Foothills before EMS arrived.
“The male who was assessed by EMS stated to the crew that him and his friend were riding a pair of all-terrain vehicles when they came across a bear and cubs,” said Loria.
“The pair tried to egress, the bear charged at them, knocking them from their vehicles. They immediately released bear spray, and shortly thereafter, the bear retreated.”
The area, located in the Ghost land use zone about 60 kilometres northwest of Cochrane near Hunter Valley Road, has been closed and will remain closed throughout the Labour Day long weekend (Sept 5-7).
“We do understand it’s a popular area and some people may be inconvenienced or disappointed,” said Cox. “Our intent with the closure is to give bears space they need to move on and also to keep the public safe.”
This is the second grizzly bear mauling of the summer. In July, an employee with Alberta Environment and Parks was injured when he surprised a bear in the Jumpingpound area of Kananaskis Country. He, too, grabbed his bear spray and the bear ran off.
Kim Titchener, owner of Bear Safety & More, works with companies to train employees on bear safety.
Titchener said people are surprised by this attack because the assumption is bears would hear off-road vehicles coming because they are so noisy – but they are also very fast and there are lots of them in that area.
“If you’re going that speed, imagine a mamma bear and her cubs, it’s hard to get the kids moving,” she added.
“She probably didn’t have time to properly get them out of way and she became defensive and attacked,” she added.
“The unfortunate side is we will continue to see more bear attacks as we see more people on the landscape.”
Titchener said the two attacks this summer highlight how effective bear spray can be in fighting off a bear.
“This is the second incident in this region where they had bear spray and used it – and lived,” she said. “ It’s good to hear more people are getting it and realizing bear spray is important,” she said.
