Bear Attack in British Columbia

[Jeff Higgins]

Up near Bella Coola, a group of school children and teachers out on an outing in the wilderness. While, thank God, no one got killed, several children and teachers from the group of 11 remain hospitalized, some in pretty bad shape. Some of the teachers deployed bear spray to no effect, and a couple actually wound up physically wrestling with the bear before it ran off. Brave, heroic people, risking their lives like that for the others in their party.

I have to look at this from a hunter's point of view, and a hunter who has spent a pretty fair amount of time in good bear country pursuing these beasts. And, well, in other remote places, in the backyards of potentially even more dangerous critters. First off, they have banned bear hunting up there, back in 2017. The population has, as a result, exploded. Human / bear encounters have better than doubled, maybe even tripled in eight short years. Yeah, they like to blame "climate change" and the supposedly resultant shift in food supplies, amongst a myriad of other things. From my perspective, one held in the hunting community, is that there is two very obvious changes that have taken place - the bears have no reason to fear people anymore, and there are a lot more of them. A recipe for disaster if there ever was one.

Beyond that, having hunted in country where we know these things are about (and similar animals), I've been in hunting camps where we don't even go take a leak without our rifles. They are simply with us all the time. Gathering firewood, whatever. It's fairly axiomatic among us that "bear spray" is largely ineffective against a seriously pissed off example. Stories abound of the can of bear spray being tossed when empty and hunters being forced to shoot instead.

This is a delicate situation for some. It shouldn't be. Why on Earth anyone would anyone even consider going into good bear country unarmed is beyond me. Unfortunately, it seems to offend some's sensibilities to even consider being armed. Especially around children, which I find entirely perplexing. I would think that is when we would most want to be armed. The whole thought process just puzzles me - we wouldn't let our children swim in the ocean without a lifeguard, would we?

If there had been a competent man (or woman) with a rifle, I believe things would have come out much differently. As we have it, people are seriously injured, recovering (hopefully) in the hospital. It didn't have to be this way.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/24/canada-grizzly-bear-attack-search

[Dantilla]

Momma Grizzly with cubs.

My only chance encounters with bears in the wilderness have been black bears, and they tend to wander away from human activity.

[908/930]

I don't think hunting them down is the solution, there will always be one more. That is bear country up their get used to it. Should one of the teachers have had a rifle, probably. Would that have change what happened, I don't know. Then there is a possibility of a student getting shot. I would like to know what they were out there looking for.

[masraum]

I can't imagine that much will stop/deter a momma bear protecting cubs other than death or distance.

From the article

The BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF) warned that Thursday’s attack, which conservation officers called “atypical”, reflects a broader trend in the province. The group, which advocates for hunters, said a decision to ban trophy hunting of grizzly bears in 2017 – a decision the group said was made “due to popular opinion, with no scientific rationale” – was partly to blame.

“In the 10 years preceding the ban, calls to the [conservation officers] concerning grizzly conflicts ranged from 300 to 500 a year, peaking between April and November,” the group said. “Since the ban, calls about grizzly bears doubled, to nearly 1,000 a year.” But the group’s call to revive the trophy hunt has created fissures in the hunting community, reflecting the controversial nature of the hunt.

“The idea of hunting to manage bears, it’s an old way of thinking that we really need to change and examine. And First Nations communities, like the Nuxalk nation have shown there is a different approach. They don’t manage wildlife because it’s not something to manage. They’re stewards,’ said Nicholas Scapillati, head of the non-profit Grizzly Bear Foundation.

Damn shame about what happened, especially since it was kids that were involved.

[billybek]

A hunter was mauled by a grizzly west of Calgary in late October of this year.
They don't really care if you have a rifle. Some have been conditioned to hearing a rifle shot and come in to clean up the gut pile or claim the kill for their own.
Usually one or more hunters in the province has a run in with a bear during hunting season resulting in injuries or on occasion death.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by billybek

A hunter was mauled by a grizzly west of Calgary in late October of this year.
They don't really care if you have a rifle. Some have been conditioned to hearing a rifle shot and come in to clean up the gut pile or claim the kill for their own.
Usually one or more hunters in the province has a run in with a bear during hunting season resulting in injuries or on occasion death.

I'm guessing that for bear, you need big, heavy, fast bullets, and even then, unless you get a good shot placement, or you shoot them when they are still ¼ mile away, they may still get to you.

But I'm not a hunter and have never shot a big critter. Jeff's more of an expert on that kind of stuff than me.

[Jeff Higgins]

Interestingly, black bears account for far more maulings and deaths than brown bears. Partly due to proximity and numbers of black bears, but also because of behavioral differences. Brown bears are typically defending something, like their cubs, or a kill, or have simply been startled. They just want to end the threat and get outta there. Black bears, however, often attack in a predatory mode - they fully intend to kill and eat you. Yes, they will defend a kill, their cubs, etc., but this predatory behavior is far more common amongst them than it is with brown bears.

Yes, unfortunately, even hunters sometimes get mauled by bears. Sometimes because they shot and wounded a bear, who then goes into a defensive survival mode. Sometimes because they stumble upon a kill, sometimes momma with cubs. Hunters do, however, often succeed in defending themselves against bear attacks by virtue of being armed. We don't hear as much about these (at least outside of hunting circles) because it's rather less remarkable than when the hunter gets mauled or killed, especially as far as the general public are concerned. That, and many hunters would just rather not make a big deal out of it outside of our circles, so these incidents don't really get publicized. When a human gets mauled, though, it's all over the news. But to say "they really don't care if you have a rifle" is just uninformed. A rifle, or a shotgun, has absolutely made a very real difference for far too many people to say such a thing.

I've hunted in places populated by big bears where they are off limits to hunting, or where I didn't have a tag, or was not accompanied by a guide (a legal requirement to hunt them in most places). Blacktails in Southeast Alaska, for example. And, yes, they are absolutely tuned into rifle shots as their "dinner bell", and one is compelled, by law, to let them have your kill if they ask for it. Even if they are less than polite about it... It was suggested to me to learn to bow hunt as a better option in these areas. Our approach was to gut them as quickly as possible, then drag the rest as quickly and as far as we could, the idea being to leave the smelliest, most desirable part for them. Seemed to work, we never had any trouble.

People might laugh, but I hunted these tiny little blacktails (and caribou, and other such Alaskan game) with no less than my .375 H&H Magnum Model 70. None of these animals require that kind of power, of course, but when there are big bears around... It's best to be prudent about such matters. And, well, on those trips where there was a bear tag burning a hole in my pocket and I did wind up pointing rifle at one, I cannot think of a better caliber. It sure makes the guides smile to see one.

[thingmon]

Darwin award. Almost. Geez.

[juanbenae]

I own guns so I'm not some anti 2A by any means, but I would anticipate a teacher with a firearm in a circumstance like this would not end well. Kids running around unpredictably terrified, sounds like the bear was on victims so who takes that shot? Were these educators supposed to shoot at a bear with a bunch of kids around before the attack commenced?

I guess you could send armed hunter types out with kids/teachers on a field trip in the woods, but that could mess with the kids some too, even had Yogi didn't show up.

[LWJ]

Interesting anecdotes.

I was fishing in Alaska early am on the Russian River. A fairly large grizzly was also fishing the same river at a similar place. I sort of just watched and didn't feel threatened at all. Then the bear ambled off up stream.

As opposed to solo dirtbiking in SW Washington where I nearly ran into Mamma black bear which would have been very very very bad for me. I got lucky. Didn't hit her. Revved up the engine and she ran away.

Conclusion. Bears are situational. You should try to frame things into your favor. Because bears don't care.

[afterburn 549]

Rule of thumb- if a Black bear attacks you , then you are on the menu.
The others?
Usually not so much.
But it is going to hurt a lot, maybe more.
Being romantic, complacent, and nonchalant about bears is a recipe for disaster.
I certainly dont advocate killing them all or more than what you want to harvest.
There is a balance between victim, being stupid and dumb, VS being prepared.
Prepared for the worst.
Cause when it goes bad, that's the worst.
Trying to dial 911 is already way too late.
Esp with an arm lying beside you.

[Scott Douglas]

Common sense tells me you don't take a bunch of kids out in the woods and have lunch where there may be grizzly bears around.

But that may just be me.

Kind of like when you're swimming in the ocean, you're not at the top of the food chain in that environment either.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Interestingly, black bears account for far more maulings and deaths than brown bears.

This surprises me. The few times I've encountered a black bear, it either slowly changed direction away from me, or if we startled each other, it ran away quickly.

I also change direction. I'm very aware the bear has home court advantage.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

I own guns so I'm not some anti 2A by any means, but I would anticipate a teacher with a firearm in a circumstance like this would not end well.

You are making a lot of assumptions here, my friend.

"A teacher?" Just who might be teaching kids in a somewhat remote wilderness-ish locale like Bella Coola? What are the chances that this teacher (or these teachers) are avid outdoorsmen (or women), hunters, and very skilled with firearms? We have no idea. Teachers have lives outside of the classroom.

Originally Posted by juanbenae

Kids running around unpredictably terrified, sounds like the bear was on victims so who takes that shot? Were these educators supposed to shoot at a bear with a bunch of kids around before the attack commenced?

More assumptions. What we do know is that these teachers had clear enough sight lines and enough room around the bear to have decided it was o.k. to deploy their bear spray. Who knows, maybe they tried to use it well outside of its effective range (no more than ten to fifteen feet), maybe by then it was very "up close and personal". We don't know. I'm guessing, however, that if they had time and opportunity to deploy bear spray, they had ample time and opportunity to shoot it as well.

Which leads me to this: Goddamned right they should have shot it before the attack commenced. Once it got inside of a suitable "safety zone", once it was close enough to attack, they should have dropped it. No question. The safety of the kids trumps every other consideration under these circumstances. "Better safe than sorry."

Originally Posted by juanbenae

I guess you could send armed hunter types out with kids/teachers on a field trip in the woods, but that could mess with the kids some too, even had Yogi didn't show up.

Just how would this "mess with the kids"?

Kids' only aversion to firearms or being around firearms is learned from adults who themselves have some kind of an aversion. Kids who grow up around them have absolutely no qualms about being around them. My family is a great example of that. For generations now, we have all been exposed to firearms from a very young age. I had my first "real" gun at twelve years old (and an air rifle at eight), and God only knows how young my father did before me. My own sons each received .22 rifles on their sixth birthdays. My six year old grand daughter already has hers, and my four year old will have hers in two years.

Parents who shield their kids from firearms do them a huge disservice. They instill in them this "forbidden fruit" syndrome. No good ever comes from that. Far better is a familiarity, satisfying their natural curiosity, and instilling in them a healthy respect for what they can do. Especially if the parents have chosen to live in a wilderness setting such as Bella Coola, knowing that they are absolutely in "bear country". They are living in their (the bears) house, under their rules.

So, I too have no idea how all of this went down. I won't make any assumptions. My only point is that they chose to leave a very useful, very important component of safety in the bear woods at home. Not that it would have been useful, I won't make that stretch, it very well may not have been. But they didn't even have that option. They chose not to. To me, that is foolish and irresponsible in the extreme.

We don't go boating without life jackets. We don't drive race cars without buckling the harnesses and wearing a helmet. Granted, the vast majority of the time the boat doesn't sink and the car doesn't crash. But sometimes they do. It's just plain common sense to be prepared for when they do. I find it odd that this same kind of common sense seems to go out the window for many when firearms are involved. Emotion seems to cloud the thinking of many. These same people would never even consider going into the wilderness without "the ten essentials", yet they willingly leave a potentially life saving article at home. I'll never understand that.

[afterburn 549]

Well said.
Complacency awards only get one a crown, a headstone.
Teaching people to be cream puffs and tender feet......
The problem with today's teachers is that they have been taught by the finest ones that can be bought, taught by a couple of generations of people who have not ever done anything.
Yet are experts.

[908/930]

I looked up some info from the internet so it is probably close, lol. BC deaths caused by drowning 2023=119, 2024=98, motorcycle deaths 2023=48, 2024=27. 1990 to 2023 Alberta and BC deaths caused by grizzly's = 20. The bears are not a problem.

[Dantilla]

My observation:

People in urban areas equate firearms with crime.
People in rural areas equate firearms as one of their many necessary tools.

[afterburn 549]

^^^ 908/930 -
Dont fight arguments with facts, it ruins everything. LOL

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by 908/930

I looked up some info from the internet so it is probably close, lol. BC deaths caused by drowning 2023=119, 2024=98, motorcycle deaths 2023=48, 2024=27. 1990 to 2023 Alberta and BC deaths caused by grizzly's = 20. The bears are not a problem.

Yup, statistically irrelevant. Until you are that statistic. "Everything is fine until it's not."

A firearm is simply a prudent precaution. I've spent an awful lot of time in very good bear country and am happy to report that I never had to shoot one that I did not want to shoot. Each and every guide I hunted with, however, had at least a time or two (and some a good deal more often than that) been forced to shoot to defend themselves and/or a client.

It does happen. Not often, for sure. But to say "the bears are not a problem" is just silly. If one ever becomes your problem, a firearm may prove to be the only way to "un-fornicate" the situation.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

"A teacher?" Just who might be teaching kids in a somewhat remote wilderness-ish locale like Bella Coola? What are the chances that this teacher (or these teachers) are avid outdoorsmen (or women), hunters, and very skilled with firearms? We have no idea. Teachers have lives outside of the classroom.

Right, no reason to assume that teachers are NOT hunters. I saw something online the other day that said that Wisconsin has something like 600k hunting licenses each year. Texas is 1.1million licenses each year. Hell, even Rhode Island has over 8000 paid hunting licenses. Presumably, folks in Canada hunt too.

Kids' only aversion to firearms or being around firearms is learned from adults who themselves have some kind of an aversion. Kids who grow up around them have absolutely no qualms about being around them. My family is a great example of that. For generations now, we have all been exposed to firearms from a very young age. I had my first "real" gun at twelve years old (and an air rifle at eight), and God only knows how young my father did before me. My own sons each received .22 rifles on their sixth birthdays. My six year old grand daughter already has hers, and my four year old will have hers in two years.

Parents who shield their kids from firearms do them a huge disservice. They instill in them this "forbidden fruit" syndrome. No good ever comes from that. Far better is a familiarity, satisfying their natural curiosity, and instilling in them a healthy respect for what they can do. Especially if the parents have chosen to live in a wilderness setting such as Bella Coola, knowing that they are absolutely in "bear country". They are living in their (the bears) house, under their rules.

My grandsons have watched and played video games that have "Army" guys running around shooting things (I'm not sure what games). They have toy guns, swords, battle axes, etc... and play various "army" type imaginary games.

Their dad has guns, although I'm not sure how much the boys are exposed to them.

I have guns and have shown them one. I have also taught them various rules surrounding guns. I have exposed them to archery and they have a BB gun that they shoot (under supervision). They know the "rules" of guns and can recite them. I think I could leave my guns laying around and they wouldn't touch them, but I would never do that. When the boys are around my guns are on me or locked up, because there's no way that I'm trusting small kid temptation to small kid will power in something this important.