Parks Canada says charges have been laid against two hikers who, along with their off-leash dog, encountered a grizzly bear in Banff National Park on Sunday, July 19.
The video of the encounter on Taylor Lake trail shows two people, one visible on camera and one recording, backing up along a trail as the grizzly follows closely.
Washington State resident Brook Koski told Storyful that her husband, Kraig, initially encountered the bear on his own while jogging ahead of Brook on the trail.
The footage, filmed by Brook, shows the bear slowly following Kraig as he walked away backwards, facing the bear, along with their dog Lola.
In the video, Kraig is heard yelling, “Back off!”
Brook, who was shooting the footage, yells, “You’re too close!”
Their dog, Lola, runs back and forth between the them, at times barking at the bear.
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The video ends with the hikers still backing away from the grizzly as it runs away off the trail.
Bear 142 is seen with her cubs at Banff National Park in an undated handout photo.
Video of the encounter was posted to Instagram, and Parks Canada wardens were able to identify the people involved.
The regulatory charges under the Canada National Parks Act are for having an off-leash dog in a national park.
Parks Canada says bears and other wildlife may react aggressively toward dogs they view as threats, resulting in injury or death.
It says the bear in the video has been identified as Bear 142, a tagged female grizzly.
“Off-leash dogs can also cause wildlife stress, leading to them avoiding important habitat and sources of food,” Parks Canada said in a statement.
“Always keep your pets on leash when visiting national parks.”
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Grizzly bear ‘The Boss’ descends on Banff in search of food
— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News
Boring, rather read that bear ate all three of them
Parks Canada should send a few officers to Whistler for a week! Probably generate some revenue there pretty quickly!
NEVER PRESENT YOUR BACK TO A BEAR, OR BIG CAT!!!
Perhaps you may find that it’s a good time for you, and your partner, to begin carrying bear spray, and possibly some bear bangers, if they are permitted in your area. Ultimately remember this; you are the visitor in this situation. You are the intruder. Not the bear. Don’t be surprised if they react, and treat you this way. So smarten up, and prepare accordingly. You never know, you just might save a life, and that life just might be your own!
Left out of the story is that the hikers are two Americans vacationing in Canada. And yes they deserved the fine.
Sorry
You will have to look somewhere else for the attention you so desperately crave
Dave – Don’t take it out on a defenceless animal because humans are stupid. You are no better at making threats to do god knows what to a dog or cat on your property. What I will tell you is if I knew you harmed an animal, you sir would be the one not going home.
Good. Sick of dog owners ignoring the rules.
Same with at local parks
CAN U SAY D U M B A S S’S ENOUGH TIMES ???
the bear was not too close, YOU were too close
Good
Keep your dog leashed and your cat indoors
They come on my property they.wont be coming home
Good.
Anonymous is confused. It should be a hefty fine, and there should be a ban against them attending Canada parks. This is very serious. A bear was recently killed because someone thought bringing a dog into the wild would be fun. The bear attacked in self defence and the jogger was hurt. They could have been killed.
A waste would be letting the criminal get away with it, without people learning something. – hope you learned something.
Of course they did. Maybe there’s a hate crime charge in there somewhere, too.
Dumbest charge I’ve ever heard of. What a waste of court time.