A tourist from Denmark has very minor injuries to his arm after surprising a bear under the power lines near Quarry Lake in Canmore on Saturday evening (July 19).
A tourist from Denmark has very minor injuries to his arm after surprising a bear under the power lines near Quarry Lake in Canmore on Saturday evening (July 19).
The man’s arm was bruised, his jacket ripped and a small cut on his finger was bleeding. He was taken to hospital for a tetanus shot as a precautionary measure.
Fish and Wildlife officer Dave Dickson said the minor incident has resulted in a closure in the area and a trap being set up to try and catch the bear.
“It all happened so fast he is not sure if he was hit or bitten, but the jacket is torn and the two marks on his arm - there are no corresponding arks underneath like a bite -so it may have been a swat, ” he said.
It is unknown what kind of bear is involved, however the man described it as brown. Dickson said while a brown female bear with cubs have been frequenting the area there is no way to tell if it was her.
“She has been running off and not an issue, ” he said. “We have a bear response team leader coming in and we may not even catch the right bear we might have an accidental catch. ”
As for what will happen to the bear if it is caught, Dickson said the bear response team leader “will make that call at the time depending on what we have seen. ”
The incident is a reminder for residents and tourists that bears can be encountered anywhere in the Bow Valley. The man was quietly bird watching at the time alone at dusk around 9 p.m. without bear spray and Bow Valley Wildsmart program director Kim Titchener said it shows there is still work to be done to educate residents and visitors about bear safety.
“The person was walking in the evening birding and he was being quite quiet, he wasn’t carrying bear spray, he wasn’t with friends, so the real take home message here is the usual one to make lots of noise, travel in groups and carry bear spray, ” she said.
Dickson said there were really good ripe buffalo berries in the area, which bears like to feed on, and evidence the man surprised a feeding bear, prompting the defensive attack.
“We do know that conflict rates do increase during berry season, ” Titchener said. “August has a high conflict rate and this is when we know bears are so focused on their food sources and are less aware of their surroundings, so people need to be extra cautious. ”
Report sightings of bears, cougars or wolves to 403-591-7755 and go to www.wildsmart.ca for more information on how to be prepared in bear country and what to do if you encounter wildlife.
