A lone hiker had a lucky escape after he surprised a female grizzly bear and her cub along the Lake Minnewanka shoreline trail in Banff National Park Sunday morning (June 3).
A lone hiker had a lucky escape after he surprised a female grizzly bear and her cub along the Lake Minnewanka shoreline trail in Banff National Park Sunday morning (June 3).
A bear cub dashed across the trail about four metres in front of the Cochrane man as he hiked about one kilometre inside the park boundary, followed quickly by the female bear, which charged and took a swipe at his backpack.
Parks Canada officials say the man, in his mid-30s, was able to use bear spray to scare the bear off, adding the bear bit the bear spray canister and wounded the man's hand.
"It's a defensive response. When you surprise a female with offspring that's a fairly typical reaction," said Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager for Banff National Park.
"It was a classic surprise encounter. A lone hiker, not great sight lines and they caught each other by surprise. She reacted as a bear will and once the surprise part was over the bear disengaged."
Parks Canada has closed the Minnewanka lakeshore trail and vicinity, from the Lake Minnewanka patrol cabin to the park boundary, including campgrounds LM 20, 22 and 31. A warning is in effect for the rest of the trail to Stewart Canyon.
The agency also evacuated a handful of people from the backcountry campgrounds in the area as a safety precaution and immediately notified provincial wildlife counterparts because the incident happened close to the boundary.
Hunt said it looks like the bear spray played a role in deterring the bear and bought the hiker some time to get away.
"He deployed the bear spray, the bear swatted at the back pack and bit the bear spray canister," he said.
"He had small cut or puncture wound on hand. It was fairly minor, but the backpack took a little bit of abuse. The bear disengaged and fled away with the cub," he added.
"If you're hiking alone, it's a really good idea to make some noise in dense bush, which he may or may not have been doing, but it's encouraging to see he had his bear spray with him."
Hunt said the man hiked out and sought medical attention for his hand, noting Parks Canada did not get the call until after 1 p.m.
He said resource conservation officers are monitoring the bear and let their provincial wildlife counterparts know of the incident because it occurred so close to the boundary.
"In terms of that interaction, that may have been good learning experience for bear as well," said Hunt.
