A grizzly bear that sent a 25-year-old woman to hospital will be given space to move on with her cubs, officials said Wednesday.
Alberta Fish and Wildlife said the sow was behaving defensively, “reacting naturally to protect her cubs” when she attacked a pair of hikers. The incident happened near the Trapper’s Hill campground in the Waiporous area of southern Alberta Tuesday afternoon.
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“The bears will be left alone and given the space they need to move on,” spokesperson Brendan Cox said in an email to Global News. “The area is closed from the gates at Bar C Ranch west along TransAlta road to Banff National Park.”
He said the closure will be lifted when officers feel it is safe.
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STARS Air Ambulance said it transported a 25-year-old female patient in stable condition to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary after it was dispatched at 12:30 p.m. to the area for a “bear attack-related injury.”
Witness Coleman Blair said it appeared the bear bit the woman’s arm after knocking her into the Ghost River. While he said Tuesday the couple told him they were sleeping and woke up to find the bear basically on top of them, Fish and Wildlife said the hikers were awake when the cubs stumbled upon them.
“The mother then went in to protect the cubs,” Cox wrote in an email Wednesday.
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