A woman was sent to hospital after she was attacked by a grizzly bear on July 19 outside of Waiparous at Trappers Hill Campground shortly before noon.
Cochrane RCMP, Alberta Fish & Wildlife and EMTs with Covenant Health out of Banff responded to the incident that involved two people. A 25-year-old female was transported by STARS Air Ambulance in stable, non-life threatening condition to Foothills Hospital in Calgary.
According to Brendan Cox, with Alberta Fish & Wildlife, the incident involved a sow grizzly bear and her two cubs.
The woman sustained a bite to her forearm before the victim’s male companion chased off the bear. He added this was the first bear attack in the Cochrane district this year.
While the eastern slopes area of the province is prime grizzly habitat, Cox said there are few attacks.
Officials have deemed the attack to be defensive in nature and will not be pursuing the bear and her cubs. According to Cox, the area is closed from the gates at Bar C Ranch west along TransAlta road to Banff National Park to allow the bears to move on from the area. Officers will continue to monitor and reassess the situation as time passes, and the closure will be lifted when officers feel it is safe to do so.
Alberta Parks recommend that you stay calm and don’t run if you encounter a bear in the wilderness. It is also recommended that you carry bear spray when out in bear country and know the difference between a defensive and predatory attack.
According to Alberta Parks’ website, a defensive attack is the most common and it is recommended the victim play dead. Predatory attacks occur when a bear stalks a person along a trail or at night and the best course of action is to defend oneself by any means necessary to dissuade the bear from continuing its attack.
