A grizzly bear attacked and killed two people and their dog in the Banff National Park of Alberta, according to Canadian park officials and a friend of the victims. After the attack, the bear was euthanized for displaying aggressive behavior.
Parks Canada said in a statement that it had received an alert from a GPS device indicating a bear attack in the Valley of the río Red Deer west of Ya Ha Tinda ranch in Banff National Park. The victims were a Canadian couple and their dog, according to Kim Titchenerfounder of Bear Safety and More and also a friend of the family.
Titchener, who teaches courses on bear safety and assessment, said these types of encounters are increasing as more people go into the backcountry, but fatal attacks are extremely rare.
“It’s really the reason we’re seeing more attacks, which is that more people are going out into the countryside and unfortunately they’re not informed about bears,” he said by phone, adding that only 14% of grizzly bear attacks They cause deaths all over the world.
Bear sightings increase during the fall as they become more active in search of food before hibernating in the cold winter months.