Attaques d'ours dans le parc national de Banff

[Animal 0]

Banff bear attack puts hiker in hospital
By DAWN WALTON

Friday, September 2, 2005 Page A7

CALGARY -- For the second time in less than a week, a grizzly that was
startled into action while feasting on berries and protecting its young
attacked a hiker in Banff National Park.

At about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, two men hiking about 25 kilometres south of
the town of Banff found themselves face to face with a sow and its cub.

The mother charged at the man in the lead on the trail, knocking him to the
ground, chief park warden Ian Syme said. Although severely injured from
bites to one hand and arm, the man managed to yank bear spray from his pack
to defend himself. The bear fled along the trail, where it encountered the
second man, who also used spray to scare it off into the bush. The pair then
hiked at least five kilometres to a lodge, where they notified wardens. The
injured man was taken to a Calgary hospital and was in stable condition.

The men's identities have not been released.

"The bear spray probably saved a far worse outcome than this," Mr. Syme
said.

As a precaution, five other hikers in the area known as the Bryant Creek
valley were ushered to shelter for the night and taken out by helicopter
yesterday morning.

Banff officials described the incident as a "surprise encounter" that caused
the grizzly to charge to protect its cub. Because the incident appears to be
self-defence, wardens have no plans to track the bear.

That was also the case in a grizzly attack elsewhere in the park last
Saturday. A woman hiking near Lake Minnewanka, about 25 kilometres from
where the latest attack took place, found herself between a grizzly and her
cubs. The hiker tried to hide beside a fallen tree, but the surprised bear
swatted at her and knocked her unconscious. When she awoke, the bears were
gone, and officials waved off tracking.

Bleeding and shocked, the woman hiked to get help. About 30 outdoor
enthusiasts were also removed from the area.

Lured by an unusually plump berry crop because of heavy spring rain, grizzly
and black bears have moved down from the alpine in the mountainous park and
run into nature lovers out for a hike or bike.

The chance of encountering a bear in the backcountry is high at this time of
year. From August through September, bears concentrate on feeding to lard on
as much weight as possible before heading into dens for the winter, Mr. Syme
said.

But attacks can happen at any time.

In early June, a grizzly mauled jogger Isabelle Dubé to death on a trail in
Canmore, just east of the Banff park gates. Wildlife officials shot the
bear. Last week, a black bear killed a 69-year-old man who was picking plums
in Manitoba.

Officials say there is nothing unusual going on in Banff this year, and
people shouldn't avoid the backcountry; just be smart about using it.

Officials advise that people hike in groups. After a bear encounter this
year, hikers around Lake Louise were told to stay in groups of no fewer than
six. Other precautions include carrying bear spray and watching for fresh
tracks and droppings. Above all, hikers should make noise so they don't
startle bears.

"We seem to have this phobia about making noise," Mr. Syme said. "If people
made noise in both cases [the attacks on Wednesday and Saturday] things
would have turned out different."

The Bryant Creek valley will be closed for at least a week given the good
berry crop, officials said. The area around Lake Minnewanka will remain
closed at least through the long weekend, Parks Canada spokeswoman Sheri
Tarrington said.

Those bypassing the closings could face fines of $5,000.

_______

Saturday's

Hiker attacked by bear near Banff
By DAVE EBNER

Monday, August 29, 2005 Page A8

CALGARY -- A grizzly bear attack near the town of Banff has put a woman in
hospital but an official with Parks Canada said the incident doesn't mean
there are additional dangers for hikers and others as the last long weekend
of summer approaches.

At about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, an unidentified female hiker came across a
bear and two cubs and may have inadvertently found herself between the
mother and the children. The hiker tried to hide under or beside a fallen
tree, at which point she was struck by the surprised bear, knocked
unconscious in an act believed to be in self-defence. When the woman awoke,
the bear and cubs were gone.

"As soon as that perceived threat is neutralized, the bears typically will
leave, which tells us it was defensive in nature," said Glen Peers, a
specialist in human-wildlife conflict at Parks Canada.

Bleeding from the head, the woman hiked about a kilometre before reaching a
campground, where she met two men with a boat on Lake Minnewanka. She was
brought to a Banff hospital before being airlifted to Calgary, where she
received surgery and was reported to be in stable condition. Her name was
not released.

The attack occurs at the end of a summer filled with bear attacks in the
Banff area and other parts of Canada as well. Friday, a 69-year-old man was
killed in Manitoba by a black bear, a rarity in that province. In early June
on a trail in Canmore, just outside of Banff National Park, jogger Isabelle
Dubé was mauled to death by a grizzly known as bear No. 99, which was
subsequently shot by wildlife officials.

Ms. Dubé was the first person killed by a bear in Alberta since 1998. A
local paper identified the weekend hiker as a 40-year-old woman who is
working and living at the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Mr. Peers said there is nothing about the weekend incident to suggest that
there are unusual dangers for outdoor enthusiasts in the mountains. He said
Parks Canada has decided not to track the bear or her cubs, though the trail
where the attack happened will remain closed for at least one or two weeks.

Parks Canada moved quickly on Saturday to evacuate and cordon off the area,
moving out about 30 hikers, mountain bikers and kayakers, Mr. Peers said.

The woman hiker was about eight kilometres into the wilderness and on a side
trial up from the lake when she encountered the bear and the cubs in a
heavily forested area where bears and humans can easily surprise each other.

The area also has more berries than usual this year -- a "real bonus" for
bears in the region, Mr. Peers said -- and is part of the reason for keeping
the trail closed because it means higher potential for bear encounters.

"Bears enter what's called a hyperphasia this time of year," Mr. Peers said.
"They're really focusing on feeding, trying to put on as much weight as
possible in preparation for denning."

Bear encounters are weighing on the minds of Albertans, with a front-page
feature story yesterday in the Calgary Herald warning of a "turf war"
between humans and bears.

However, most Albertans seem fairly comfortable with bears. Natural
Resources Canada surveyed 1,100 people in the province last year and most
respondents didn't think that bears should necessarily be shot after an
attack on humans and didn't believe in controlling bear populations to keep
people safer.