A Willowbrook woman’s arm was broken when she was attacked by a black bear Wednesday while walking her dog in a park in the rural community near Oliver. She also suffered a scratch to her face as well as cuts and scrapes to her back.
Luckily, the woman was able to escape when the bear chased her dog. Her dog was not hurt.
“She was lucky that the dog distracted the bear because if he would’ve come back and started biting at her again, she would’ve been worse off,” says Treitl.
The Conservation Officer Service says it was an unprovoked attack by an adult female black bear. Conservation officer Jim Beck says the bear appeared to be healthy and didn’t have any cubs with her.
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He says it is rare for bears to attack humans for no reason. Beck says the public shouldn’t be alarmed but should be aware the area is in bear country. He recommends people carry bear spray and make plenty of noise when in areas frequented by bears.
That day conservation officers set up bear traps in the park. On Thursday, the day after the attack, they killed a bear matching the description of the one which attacked the woman.
Beck says on two other recent occasions, before the attack, people or pets encountered an aggressive black bear in the same area.
A dog was scratched by a bear and a horseback rider encountered a bear acting aggressively.
– with files from Angela Jung
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