Just one day after a woman was mauled by a grizzly bear near Cochrane, another woman said to be in her mid 20s was attacked by a brown bear in Canmore.
The woman was biking with a friend Wednesday afternoon when they came across the bear on the trail. After trying to ride away from it, EMS says the bear struck her, resulting in a serious soft-tissue injury to her upper torso leading to internal injury.
Her friend was able to use bear spray on the animal, but the injured woman had to bike for a distance before they were able to get to a location where they could call EMS.
EMS rushed to the scene at 7:30 p.m., and the woman is now at the Canmore General Hospital in stable condition. Paramedics say she was calm and conversing with them during the ride to the hospital.
Meanwhile, a wildlife spokesman says the grizzly bear in Tuesday’s attack near Cochrane was trying to protect her cubs when she attacked two people at a campground in the backcountry northwest of Calgary.
A 25-year-old woman having a picnic with a man was charged and bitten on the arm by the mother grizzly.
Fish and Wildlife spokesman Brendan Cox says the bear will not be tracked down and destroyed.
Coleman Blair, whose family owns the Trapper’s Hill campground by the Ghost River, said he came upon the attack and helped scare the bear away.
The woman was taken to hospital and was in stable condition.
Cox says a large part of the area will be closed to recreational use until further notice.
“The sow was reacting naturally to protect her cubs,” Cox said Wednesday.
“The cubs stumbled upon the pair. It reacted to defend them, so the bears will be left alone and given the space they need to move on on their own.”
He said wildlife officers will monitor the region.
“The area will be opened again when officers are confident that it’s safe to do that.
“After a situation like this, it’s typical that (the bears) will leave the immediate area quickly, but it is best practice to close off a larger area to help prevent similar incidents like this. We really can’t put a timeline on how long it’s going to be closed right now.”
Warning signs and tape will advise hikers of the closure, Cox said.
With files from Canadian Press
