Man hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after grizzly bear attack in B.C.

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5 days ago

A man has been hospitalized with injuries following a grizzly bear attack near Creston, B.C., said B.C. Conservation Service officers, who later determined the animal's behaviour was defensive in nature.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) said in a social media post that the attack happened around 4:30 p.m. Saturday when a husband and wife were riding e-bikes along the Kootenay River near West Creston in southeast B.C.
The service said the wife heard her husband scream and saw a grizzly bear running at her. She used bear spray and then realized a second bear was attacking her husband.
The wife used bear spray again, and both bears ran off, according to the BCCOS.
"Emergency services were called, and the man was transported to hospital in Cranbrook by ambulance, where he underwent surgery," the BCCOS said.
RCMP said in a separate statement that the attack happened in the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area. Investigators believe the bears are two to three years old and are known to have been in the area over the last few years.
According to police, the two victims were riding their bikes along the park's dike system, near a bat hut, when they were attacked.
"The preparedness in this case by way of ready access and use of bear spray may prove to have been a life-saving measure," said Creston RCMP Staff Sgt. Brandon Buliziuk in the statement, reminding hikers to be prepared to encounter predators in the wild.
A wildlife co-existence coordinator in the area said on Monday that it's possible the e-bikers came upon the bears too quickly and weren't making enough noise to herald their coming.
"Unfortunately, startling a bear is, you know, one of the things that these conflicts arise as a result of," said Dee Howard with Creston Valley Wildlife.
Sgt. Ben Beetlestone with the BCCOS confirmed to CBC News on Monday that the two cyclists encountered the bears on a blind corner in a trail that was thick with bushes.
"They were very well prepared with their bear spray for an encounter with bears," he said. "[The wife] was very brave, as she was able to have the foresight to call 911 right away and get an ambulance rolling there."
The BCCOS says conservation officers swept the area after the attack and didn't locate the bears.
They closed three major trails in the area, installed signage and set up traps on Saturday night, but no bears were captured.
On Monday, the BCCOS said in a post it determined that the attack was defensive in nature and there was no evidence to suggest the bear had been stalking or hunting the couple. It said officers interviewed the couple, assessed the attack site and consulted with a regional large carnivore specialist.
"Due to the defensive nature of the attack, there are no efforts being taken to capture or dispatch the bears at this time," it said.
The BCCOS initially called the man's injuries significant, while the RCMP called them life-threatening. On Monday, the BCCOS said the victim underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
Creston Mayor Arnold DeBoon, a former conservation officer, told CBC News that there have been concerted efforts over the last few decades to restore grizzly bears in the Creston Valley.
"Over the years, they certainly have increased in numbers in the Creston Valley itself," he said.
"Because it's agricultural land, these grizzlies have made a home down in the valley and feed quite nicely on silage corn in late summer, and they've certainly tried to get at cherry orchards and other orchards here."
DeBoon said it was the third grizzly attack he was aware of in the area in the last few years, but the two previous ones didn't result in life-threatening injuries.
"It's something we worry about because we do have fairly thick cover in places in the valley," he said.
"I'm sure there have been many times people have walked by grizzly bears and they're in thick cover."
Violent Grizzly bear attacks in B.C. are rare, but human conflict with the animals is not. Reports of problems to the BCCOS vary each year, but there are hundreds of calls, on average, close to 800 per year.
DeBoon advised people in the backcountry to be on the lookout for telltale signs of bear activity, like bear poop, scratch marks and overturned rocks.
"When you're focused on something that you enjoy, you're not always thinking about what the risk factor is ... and again, there are probably a lot of people here that aren't aware of the number of grizzlies that do live quietly in our valley," the mayor said.