Bear Attack Under Investigation – Update
Tuesday, May 17, 2016 @ 5:52 PM
Prince George, B.C. – A 46 year old man was sent to hospital with minor injuries following a black bear attack this afternoon.
RCMP Corporal Craig Douglass, who originally told 250News the victim was a woman, says it happened at 4:15 p.m. in Forests for the World area near UNBC while the victim was out walking his dog.
During a search of the area, he says a sow bear and a cub were located and euthanized. The dog was located and is believed to be fine.
In light of the incident, Douglass reminds everyone to take extra caution when heading outdoors.
“Be sure to pay attention to your surroundings, keep dogs tethered and make noise so that you do not surprise animals such as bears.”
Comments
Hopefully she has a speedy recovery…Everyone remember we live in Bear country and it pays to be Bear smart…if out and about in the bush have some protection with you…Bear mace or Bear Bangers… and know how to use them…
She was euthanized so not much chance of a recovery…
I had read it was a she but now the stories are saying a man…So I hope HE has a speedy recovery.
I know, just yanking your chain
Not a good time to wandering around in the bush. These bears are hungry and nasty this time of year.
You have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being attacked by a bear. The fact that the man sustained “moderate” injuries suggests that this was not a predatory attack. As always, know your surroundings, pay attention & give wildlife a wide berth if encountered. With the sheer number of people using our urban trail systems it was only a matter of time before there was an attack. Speedy recovery to the unfortunate gentleman.
We get lots of reports of bear attacks, not too many about people being struck by lighting.
Walk in the bush where there is a sow and her cub and you are looking for trouble.
Lots of reports of bear attacks?? Where? Maybe a few per year. Statistically you have a higher chance of being struck by lightning than being a victim of an attack by a wild animal. As for taking a walk where there is a sow & cub(s), most people who spend any significant time outdoors will tell you that while it would be foolhardy to not take an encounter with a mother & young (any species) seriously, just because you see them doesn’t mean you are going to get attacked. If that were the case there would be a ton of attacks instead of the few we see.
You have more chance of dying taking a selfie than a bear or shark or any type of animal attack – sad but true fact. Another one – male are 3 times more likely to die taking a selfie than a female.
Think the average deaths attributed to selfie taking were 14 per year and who knows how many injuries. Drowning was the number one cause of death taking a selfie, falling off a cliff was a close second
Three summers ago my wife and dog ran into a big boar near Wilkins park and my dog got raked for 15 stitches. The wife managed to direct bear spray at the bear and backed off, with the dog following. They made it home safe and sound but it was close and could have been a lot worse than it was. This was an extremely dry summer with no berries around.
Your asking for trouble if you take your dog out in bear country.
The sows have cubs and they will protect them. People need to keep their dogs on a leash. or better yet leave them at home.
Absolutely! Off leash dogs and wildlife do not mix. As fun as it is to run/walk with your dog in the bush, it is fact that they provoke bears and moose, with the dogs then bringing the bears back to people with a ticked off bear on its heels.
Euthanized, I am disgusted. The Bears did nothing wrong, we all know sows are very protective of thier cubs. Trap and move them..don’t just murder them..
There was no need to euthanize this sow and her cub. I’m disgusted too. The mother bear was probably just taken by surpris by this person walking their dog and the dog may have provoked the bear and the bear naturally reacted as she was defending her young. She probably would have moved on if she hadn’t been hunted down and killed. Use caution when venturing into the woods because it’s not your home, it’s theirs.
The woods are just as much my home as it is theirs.
for those of you who are upset and mad over the killing of the bear and its cub yes it’s sad but in any incident where humans have been attacked whether provoked or not standard practise is to put down the animals as once they attack one person what is there to say they wouldn’t attack again?
This particular practise has been around for well over 30 years after numerous people were attacked in the mid 80’s after the bear population exploded and the masses demanded the government do something so this particular practise was while on the books was rarely used however after the bear attacks in the 1980’s it became part of enforcement to destroy any wild animal that attacked humans in populated areas (villages, towns, cities) whether they were provoked or not
Like it or not it is how it’s handled
While it saddens me that the Sow and her cub were put down, it pisses me off that far more bears in our area seem to be put down due to their habituation to our garbage!
Time and time again, we are told to properly secure our garbage! We are told not to put it out the night before our scheduled pick up day! And yet, in spite of the fact that we live in bear country and in spite of all of the warnings, you don’t have to look very far to see that many people do not secure their garbage and many put it out the night before their pick up day!
Bylaw needs to get off of their butts and drive around writing tickets for garbage cans stored outside and not in resident’s garages. If you don’t have a garage, then store it in a shed! No shed? Then secure the lids as best you can!
Bylaw needs to hop into the Nissan Leaf and cruise around in the evening, writing tickets to those that have their garbage out at the curb already, the night before pickup! Bylaw knows or should know the garbage collection schedule! Get out there!
It’s too bad that the sow attacked this man. In all likelihood, she felt threatened, both for her and more for her cub! A very unfortunate circumstance indeed! But what about all of the others put down each year because of lazy, human stupidity?
In the Prince George area one is more likely to be harmed by a moose than a bear going by past history.
I find it interesting that moose don’t seem to be put down but bears are blown away on a regular basis.
I’m so sick of this. She was protecting her young from a perceived threat. If she wanted that person dead, they would be. I don’t know who or what kind of human is capable of pointing a gun and blowing away a bear family, but they must be one cold person. There must be a better way of dealimg with this when we are in their habitat, lIke closimg the traIL ssystem unail she .Ives on. That was her home, not ours. Just another case of humans being entitled and disgusting.
it is the bear’s fault that man walked into their territory
You mean the forest for the world parking lot where, that same day, kindergarten classes went to Shane Lake?
I don’t thinking no trapping and moving a bear is as easy as it sounds.
Have some respect for the Conservation Officers. The last thing they want to do is kill the bear.
How exactly, do you propose, they trap the right bear and the cub? Magic?
What would all of the people feeling sorry for the bear be saying if next week it attacked a kindergarten kid on a field trip up there? This bear became a problem and it was dealt with. The bear population is absolutely exploding with triplets and quadruplets become the norm. I saw 8 bears out in the backcountry last Sunday alone. The species is doing just fine without this one.
Don’t be ridiculous, no one is going take a kindergarten kid on a field trip without being properly prepared. The bear attacked a man with a dog who no doubt provoked the bear. She was defending her young. I still feel sorry for the bear and the orphan cubs as this could have been avoided. The bear was only a problem because it was provoked. As for the comment about the species doing just fine without this one, well that just sounds cold. And if you believe that sentiment it could well be applied to our species as well. Sick eh?
“The bear attacked a man with a dog who no doubt provoked the bear”
Huh? No doubt you are an assumer.
Absolutely it could be applied to our species as well. Ask me my opinion on rapists and pedophiles.
I wonder how much more there is to the story than we will ever hear?
Take a look at the Prince George Trail Runners Facebook page, it has the guy’s perspective. Top story currently.
story has already changed….
now there are two cubs…
and they weren’t killed afterall…
so what other eronious information was given out???
He says he was running on the trail and that his dog had chased a bear in the area the day before. Who is to say that the mother bear caught the (loose) dog’s scent and remembered him from the day before so she decides to stand her ground this time with the dog and in addition she has this human lumbering towards her on the trail. What to do? Instinct kicks in and she decides to attack. Reading his account just furthers my opinion that he was partly if not fully responsible for this attack. Running in the forest isn’t very wise. And having a loose dog chasing bears for you isn’t either. Find another place to run.
How about schools don’t take classes up there right now. Problem solved. Bears don’t attack for no reason, they aren’t psychotic. Stay out of the woods. As humans, we have that choice.
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