Canmore cyclist injured in second bear attack in as many days
Posted Jul 20, 2016 11:15 pm.
Last Updated Jul 21, 2016 5:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A scary ordeal for a pair of cyclists after they came face to face with what’s believed to have been a brown bear on the Lowline Trail in Canmore.
First responders got the call around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and found a woman in her twenties dealing with a serious injury to her upper torso and an internal injury.
Paramedics learned two people were cycling the trail when they saw the bear and tried to turn around.
It wasn’t fast enough for the bruin, who took a swipe at the victim.
Her friend doused the animal with bear spray and managed to get it to leave the area.
The two hopped back on their bikes until they reached an area where they could call for help.
EMS spokesperson Adam Loria says they took the victim to Canmore General Hospital in stable, non life-threatening condition.
“It was quite the strike, nothing to knock her unconscious or anything like that but it was definitely a brush with a bear that had to be assessed in hospital,” he said.
Loria says it’s lucky they were travelling together and they came prepared.
It’s the second attack in as many days in the region following a similar situation in Cochrane on Tuesday.
Fish and Wildlife officers have just wrapped up their investigation into an incident at Trappers Valley Campground.
A woman was attacked while hiking with a man in the area and suffered minor injuries to her arm.
Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Brendan Cox tells 660 NEWS they have determined the bear attacked in self defence.
“And the sow was reacting naturally to protect her cubs. The cubs stumbled across the man and woman and that prompted a defensive reaction from the mother.”
As a result, they’ve closed the area so the sow and her cubs can have some space so they can move on.
There’s no word yet on what, if anything, will happen to the bear in Canmore.
