Update: 3:30 pm
Two women suffered minor injuries and even a bite when they found themselves in an encounter with a black bear yesterday about 35 kilometers northwest of Prince George.
The mother and daughter were walking their dogs on a deactivated logging road when one of their dogs surprised the bear as it was foraging nearby.
The B.C. Conservation Officers service described the incident as a chance encounter and concluded the bear acted defensively and eventually backed off.
“The bear lunged at the dog and engaged the dog, The other dog engaged and the bear saw one of the other women standing there,” said Sgt. Steve Ackles, with the BCCO.
“She didn’t know if she fell or if she was knocked over by the bear and doesn’t know if she was scratched by the bear intentionally or the bear was trying to get at the dog.”
The other woman tried to get in between the animal and her companion and was bitten on the arm.
The two were taken to hospital and released later that day.
“The bear did not shake its head, it bit and released,” Ackles said, describing the bear as small, likely young, and weighing about 150 pounds.
By about 1:30 p.m. the incident had been reported to the BCCOS and within about 2 1/2 hours officers had traveled out to the scene but were unable to find the animal despite a search that included deploying a drone.
The BCCOS has not set any traps, nor is it looking at capturing or euthanizing the bear because of the nature of the incident.
Ackles says letting dogs off-leash while out in the woods can lead to encounters such as this one.
“If you have a dog that’s a lot more hyper – these were older dogs – that can agitate the bear and bring it back to you,” Ackles said.
“This was just a chance encounter close up and as one of the people in the encounter said, ‘we were kind of in four corners and the bear might have felt that it was surrounded and once that feeling was gone, it disengaged,'”
Ackles urged the public to call the BCCOS hotline, 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP) to report encounters with bears or other wildlife.
Original Story:
Two Prince George women are recovering after suffering minor injuries following a bear attack yesterday (Tuesday).
This was the third known bear incident in the Prince George area within five days.
Chris Doyle, Deputy chief in charge of provincial operations for the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) told MyPGNow the attack occurred on a forest service road about 35 km northwest of the city.
“We received the call shortly after 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon,” he said.
Doyle says both victims were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
“We have since been able to interview (the women) and we have a predator attack team in the area investigating that incident,” added Doyle.
The BCCOS is working on the file and more information will be released today.
BEAR ATTACK | A woman & her mother were attacked by a bear along a logging road near #PrinceGeorge yesterday. The victims were taken to hospital. CO’s are interviewing them. The #BCCOS Predator Attack Team is investigating. Further updates will be posted as they become available.
— BC CO Service (@_BCCOS) June 17, 2020
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