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A bear that injured a hiker within the Crowsnest Go acted defensively and gained’t be trapped or destroyed, a provincial wildlife officer stated Wednesday.
On Friday, a Calgary man in his 40s who was climbing alone within the Window Mountain space northwest of Blairmore was attacked by a bear, struggling accidents to his head and a leg.
He alerted authorities by sending a Garmin message and was slung by helicopter out of the distant space earlier than being transported by air to Foothills Medical Centre.
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The person seen indicators of a bear’s presence, both by noticing tracks, diggings or scat, stated Mike Ewald, drawback wildlife specialist with Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Companies.
“He then heard rustling in close by bushes and yelled,” stated Ewald.
“It spooked or appeared to set off the bear, which ran towards him and closed the gap actually fast.”
The assault was so short-lived, the person couldn’t decide the bear’s species, with the length of the incident additionally indicating it wasn’t predatory, he stated.
“The gentleman wasn’t even knocked to the bottom and reveals it was a defensive assault — the bear felt threatened however didn’t really feel the necessity to assault additional,” stated Ewald.
“We simply closed the realm and gained’t be doing any seize efforts. If it was predatory, that adjustments the entire response.”
The bear was on him so rapidly the person wasn’t capable of deploy his bear spray, which was held in a belt holster, stated the wildlife officer.
However he was ready to make use of his strolling sticks to counter the bear’s assault, he added.
“He did so many issues proper, however it reveals issues can nonetheless occur,” stated Ewald.
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“It highlights the have to be ready, educated and mentally ready.”
That features having a bear spray canister in hand with the security latch flipped off on the first signal of hazard, he stated.
And ideally, stated Ewald, individuals shouldn’t be heading into bear nation alone.
Any DNA left by the bruin on the hiker’s clothes may very well be examined to find out if the bruin was a black or grizzly bear, he stated.
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The Crowsnest Go assault follows one in late August wherein a Calgary bow hunter was injured after being attacked by a grizzly sow with three cubs within the Madden space simply northwest of town.
In that case, the hunter was capable of deploy bear spray however couldn’t keep away from non-life-threatening accidents.
Ewald stated the possibility of bear encounters is excessive now because the animals search to fatten up for winter, whereas hunters search prey additionally sought by the bruins, corresponding to elk or deer.
“Lots of hunters are being quiet or making calls to ungulates, and that makes it tough for bears to appreciate they’re human,” he stated.
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