A grizzly bear is believed to have attacked and killed two individuals in a nationwide park in southwestern Canada, park officers stated Sunday.
Parks Canada stated it realized of the assault from an alert despatched from a satellite tv for pc gadget in Banff Nationwide Park in Alberta, Canada, round 8 p.m. Friday, in line with a press release shared on the park’s Fb web page.
GPS coordinates confirmed the alert got here from west of the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch within the Pink Deer River Valley, about 130 kilometers northwest of Calgary, Alberta. Unhealthy climate prevented a response crew from reaching the location by helicopter, so that they traveled by floor in a single day as a substitute, officers stated.
The crew, which specialised in responding to wildlife assaults, arrived at 1 a.m. on Saturday to seek out the 2 useless individuals, in addition to a grizzly bear exhibiting “aggressive habits.” They euthanized the bear on website “to make sure public security,” the assertion stated. Police arrived at 5 a.m. and helped transport the victims to Sundre, a city about 40 miles east.
The victims weren’t named, however the CBC reported they had been a married couple. Kim Titchener, who lives in Edmonton, close to Banff Nationwide Park, and is a pal of a detailed relative of the couple, stated their canine was additionally killed within the assault. “They had been in a really distant space,” Ms. Titchener, a wildlife battle specialist, stated in a phone interview on Sunday.
Parks Canada didn’t instantly reply to requests for extra details about the victims or the assault.
Based on Parks Canada, there are an estimated 691 grizzly bears in Alberta, 65 of that are in Banff Nationwide Park, reminding guests to be ready for encounters. She advises touring in teams, making noise and taking bear spray with you. In Alberta, the grizzly bear, a largely solitary, omnivorous animal that may reside as much as 30 years within the wild, is listed as “endangered.”
Bear assaults on people are comparatively uncommon, however they’ll happen when a bear is feeding, defending its cubs, or is stunned. Assaults that kill a couple of particular person look like even rarer.
In January, a polar bear killed a 24-year-old mom and her 1-year-old son in Wales, Alaska. In 2018, a grizzly bear, which authorities later described as ravenous, killed a girl and her child in Yukon, Canada.
Banff Nationwide Park described Friday’s assault as a “tragic incident” and prolonged its condolences to the households and mates of the victims. Out of security issues, park authorities have closed the Pink Deer and Panther Valleys till additional discover.
