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Experts say latest black bear attack in Alberta is 'highly unusual' |
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Written by THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Friday, 18 July 2008 |
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LAKE LOUISE, Alta. - Wildlife experts are wondering whether a black bear that attacked a 23-year-old woman in southern Alberta Wednesday may have been stalking her as its potential prey, but admit they'll probably never know for sure.
Hal Morrison, an expert in wildlife and human conflicts for Parks Canada, said Friday the incident appeared to be "exceptional" because the aggressive bear continued to charge at the woman for more than a kilometre, despite her efforts to scare it away by clapping, yelling and then playing dead.
"Certainly, that is an extended length of time and distance for the bear to continue to act overtly aggressive and to continue in a very determined manner," he said.
Charisse D'hamers, of Antwerp, Belgium, was jogging on an abandoned mountain road about four kilometres south of Lake Louise when the bear came rushing out of the bush at her.
She backed up for 500 metres, yelling and trying to scare the bear away before deciding to lay down and play dead, Morrison said.
The bear repeatedly bit her before the woman jumped up, and continued to clap loudly and back up.
The animal continued to charge her for another kilometre before it finally lost interest.
It's difficult to determine whether the bear may have initially been defending something and that turned into a stalking situation, Morrison said.
"I think perhaps we were seeing a mix of behaviours, or perhaps even a transition," he said.
But Morrison doubts they'll ever really know for sure what the bear's motivation may have been.
While wildlife officials don't know what sex the bear was, they didn't find any cubs so don't think the animal was a mother protecting her young.
Morrison had high praise for the woman, an employee of a nearby ski resort, saying she kept her wits about her through what must have been a terrifying experience.
While several traps have been set, there's no sign of the black bear yet, he said.
The last bear attack in the area was in 1995 and involved a grizzly bear, Morrison said.
He added that there are likely more human confrontations with moose and elk in the region.
With about 40,000 black bears in the province, attacks on humans are quite rare, said University of Alberta biologist Mark Boyce.
"You can very rarely get into a situation where they're stalking a person as prey, and that has occurred, especially when there's a food crisis," he said in an interview from Chattanooga, Tenn., where he's attending a conference.
With lush growing conditions throughout many areas of Alberta, the bears likely aren't facing a shortage of food, like berries, Boyce said.
Mothers with cubs can defend them very aggressively, but Boyce said young male bears looking to establish their own territory can also be dangerous.
"They've been kicked out by mom so they're not quite sure how to make a living. They oftentimes don't have a home range so they're being chased off by this big male or that big male...they're unsettled," Boyce said.
Two years ago, a student of his who was studying deer in central Alberta was chased up a tree after a male black bear attacked and killed his dog, he said.
"The bear went up the tree after him and he kind of kicked at it. Then the bear went down and came up an adjacent tree and was swatting at him," Boyce said.
The student was only able to make his escape when the bear lost interest and began to feed on the dog's carcass, he said.
While grizzly attacks are much more common, Boyce said people shouldn't lose sight of the fact that all bears can be dangerous.
"I think people may not take black bears seriously and I think that any black bear could potentially be dangerous. They should be treated with respect."
While Parks Canada doesn't specifically track black bear attacks, a report on grizzly mortality and encounters with humans released in May suggests that dangerous bear encounters are rare.
Statistics from the report show that between 1990-2007, there were a total of 324 encounters between humans and grizzlies in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.
There were just 17 incidents where bears made physical contact with humans.
In 200 cases, bears charged, but then veered away and made no contact, and in 107 cases, they made threatening gestures like growling or huffing but didn't attack.
- By Lisa Arrowsmith in Edmonton
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 July 2008 )
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