WATCH ABOVE: The community reacts to news of a Grizzly bear mauling near Fernie, B.C. Sunday morning. Kristen Robinson reports.
A 56-year-old man has been transported by air ambulance to Calgary’s Foothills hospital after he was mauled by a grizzly bear and shot by his friend while hunting near Fernie, British Columbia.
Early Sunday morning, conservation officers and emergency crews responded to reports of grizzly bear attack in the Elk Valley.
“This is a somewhat remote area and there’s no history with this bear,” said Sgt. Cam Schley, a conservation officer from Cranbrook.
The victim’s hunting partner shot and killed the 400 pound male grizzly bear. In the process, he accidentally shot his friend.
His injuries are the result of being mauled by the animal and from gunfire.
The victim’s hunting partner was not injured by the grizzly bear.
WATCH: Tanya Beja has the initial report of the mauling on Sunday
David Karn, a spokesman for B.C.’s Ministry of Environment, says the victim was in stable condition when he left the area.
He is currently at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary and is now believed to be in critical condition.
The two men were not hunting grizzly bears.
“It’s not common to encounter a grizzly in that close a range. Attacks are very rare,” said Sgt. Schley.
On July 5, 2013 a hiking trail in Fernie was closed after two men were attacked by a grizzly bear.
Both men were hiking on the Mount Proctor Trail when the animal charged and attacked them.
One hiker discharged pepper spray and the other shot at it before the female grizzly bear fled into the bushes with her cub.
Last September, a 54-year-old Calgary business man who had been hunting sheep in southern Alberta’s Kananaskis Country was found dead after a fatal bear attack.
READ MORE: Bear kills missing hunter in Kananaskis Country
In the most recent Fernie grizzly attack, the bear is being frozen and will be examined by conservation officers over the next few days.
WATCH ABOVE: Global BC, BC 1’s Asa Rehman speaks with Sgt. Cam Schley.
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