Cyclist killed by grizzly bear in Alberta
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Cyclist killed by grizzly bear in Alberta
Source: Toronto Star
CANMORE, Alta. — A well-known competitive mountain biker killed by a grizzly bear was running on a trail in a wildlife corridor that people had been asked not to use, municipal and environmental officials said today.
Isabelle Dube, originally from Cap-St-Ignace near Quebec City, was running with two friends Sunday on a popular hiking trail in Canmore, 90 kilometres west of Calgary, when the bear attacked. Her companions ran for help to the nearby SilverTip Golf Course and were not harmed, said RCMP Cpl. Brad Freer.
Fish and wildlife officers later shot and killed the grizzly, which had been relocated just eight days earlier.
The trail, just outside Canmore across the lower slopes of Mount Lady Macdonald, had been subject to a voluntary closure going back as far as April to protect a corridor designed to allow wildlife, including cougars and bears, to move between habitats.
But those corridors have come under increasing pressure from recreational users, said Mike McIvor of the Bow Valley Naturalists.
"Particularly with the advent of mountain biking, there's been a huge proliferation of trails," he said.
McIvor said one provincial official told him there are almost 200 kilometres of new trails in the area, all of them created informally by recreational outdoor enthusiasts.
McIvor said the Alberta government has been trying to keep humans off the 300-metre-wide corridors with mixed success.
"They've been trying to reduce the number of trails, (but) over resistance from recreational users," he said. "They've been taking steps to try to prevent exactly what happened."
Dube, 35, was married and had a young daughter. Her father, Lucien, reached by CBC Radio in Montreal, said he learned of his daughter's death from his son Sunday night.
"I haven't seen her in two years," he said, although he added he talked to her frequently.
Dube was the first person killed by a bear in Alberta since 1998. The attack was reminiscent of one that killed Mary Beth Miller, a 24-year-old biathlete, while she was on a training run in Quebec in 2000.
Donna Babchishin, a spokeswoman for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, confirmed the bear was the same 90-kilogram, four-year-old grizzly removed from the upper Cougar Creek area, a residential area east of SilverTip, just over a week ago.
The grizzly had been wandering from Harvey Heights, west of Canmore, through the SilverTip Golf Course and into upper Cougar Creek where it was trapped May 27.
The bear was relocated after approaching Canmore resident Niki Davison, who was photographing wildflowers. It was tranquillized, fitted with a radio collar and flown the following day by helicopter to the Carrot Creek area, a short distance inside the east boundary of Banff National Park.
Babchishin said bears that have no previous aggressive behaviour are commonly relocated within their home range.
The bear was being monitored and had not moved from Carrot Creek until it moved into the SilverTip area about 1 p.m. Sunday, she said.
Cameron Baty, one of three mountain bikers who came upon the scene shortly after the bear attack, said the grizzly approached him and his companions from over a fallen log but did not attack.
"It behaved like it was guarding a kill," Baty said.
"I don't know the history of this bear, but if the bear was thought to pose a threat to the community, it should have been shot. I've been around bears most of my life, and in my opinion if a bear is scared away and comes back, you need to shoot it or something like this happens."
Canmore Mayor Ron Casey called it "a sad day" and said the attack will intensify debate around development in Canmore.
In recent years, environmentalists have fought for wildlife corridors on the outskirts of the community of 13,000, where resort golf courses and million-dollar mountain chalets have expanded into what was once prime wildlife habitat.
"If we want to try to cohabitate with wildlife, as sad as these occurrences are, they are also a fact of where we live," Casey said.
Baty said Canmore's strong environmental lobby has made it more difficult for recreational trail users.
"The view in town is that bears have more rights than we do. As humans, we have a right to live here as well."
Since 1992, there have been two deaths and 23 maulings by bears in Alberta.
CANMORE, Alta. — A well-known competitive mountain biker killed by a grizzly bear was running on a trail in a wildlife corridor that people had been asked not to use, municipal and environmental officials said today.
Isabelle Dube, originally from Cap-St-Ignace near Quebec City, was running with two friends Sunday on a popular hiking trail in Canmore, 90 kilometres west of Calgary, when the bear attacked. Her companions ran for help to the nearby SilverTip Golf Course and were not harmed, said RCMP Cpl. Brad Freer.
Fish and wildlife officers later shot and killed the grizzly, which had been relocated just eight days earlier.
The trail, just outside Canmore across the lower slopes of Mount Lady Macdonald, had been subject to a voluntary closure going back as far as April to protect a corridor designed to allow wildlife, including cougars and bears, to move between habitats.
But those corridors have come under increasing pressure from recreational users, said Mike McIvor of the Bow Valley Naturalists.
"Particularly with the advent of mountain biking, there's been a huge proliferation of trails," he said.
McIvor said one provincial official told him there are almost 200 kilometres of new trails in the area, all of them created informally by recreational outdoor enthusiasts.
McIvor said the Alberta government has been trying to keep humans off the 300-metre-wide corridors with mixed success.
"They've been trying to reduce the number of trails, (but) over resistance from recreational users," he said. "They've been taking steps to try to prevent exactly what happened."
Dube, 35, was married and had a young daughter. Her father, Lucien, reached by CBC Radio in Montreal, said he learned of his daughter's death from his son Sunday night.
"I haven't seen her in two years," he said, although he added he talked to her frequently.
Dube was the first person killed by a bear in Alberta since 1998. The attack was reminiscent of one that killed Mary Beth Miller, a 24-year-old biathlete, while she was on a training run in Quebec in 2000.
Donna Babchishin, a spokeswoman for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, confirmed the bear was the same 90-kilogram, four-year-old grizzly removed from the upper Cougar Creek area, a residential area east of SilverTip, just over a week ago.
The grizzly had been wandering from Harvey Heights, west of Canmore, through the SilverTip Golf Course and into upper Cougar Creek where it was trapped May 27.
The bear was relocated after approaching Canmore resident Niki Davison, who was photographing wildflowers. It was tranquillized, fitted with a radio collar and flown the following day by helicopter to the Carrot Creek area, a short distance inside the east boundary of Banff National Park.
Babchishin said bears that have no previous aggressive behaviour are commonly relocated within their home range.
The bear was being monitored and had not moved from Carrot Creek until it moved into the SilverTip area about 1 p.m. Sunday, she said.
Cameron Baty, one of three mountain bikers who came upon the scene shortly after the bear attack, said the grizzly approached him and his companions from over a fallen log but did not attack.
"It behaved like it was guarding a kill," Baty said.
"I don't know the history of this bear, but if the bear was thought to pose a threat to the community, it should have been shot. I've been around bears most of my life, and in my opinion if a bear is scared away and comes back, you need to shoot it or something like this happens."
Canmore Mayor Ron Casey called it "a sad day" and said the attack will intensify debate around development in Canmore.
In recent years, environmentalists have fought for wildlife corridors on the outskirts of the community of 13,000, where resort golf courses and million-dollar mountain chalets have expanded into what was once prime wildlife habitat.
"If we want to try to cohabitate with wildlife, as sad as these occurrences are, they are also a fact of where we live," Casey said.
Baty said Canmore's strong environmental lobby has made it more difficult for recreational trail users.
"The view in town is that bears have more rights than we do. As humans, we have a right to live here as well."
Since 1992, there have been two deaths and 23 maulings by bears in Alberta.
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Originally Posted by MsMittens
A well-known competitive mountain biker killed by a grizzly bear was running on a trail in a wildlife corridor that people had been asked not to use, municipal and environmental officials said today.
A beautiful animal was killed because some idiot biker couldnt follow rules.
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it's unfortunate, but personally i think its a risk that comes with doing htat sort of thing... and its quite rare as well...
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A beautiful animal was killed because some idiot biker couldnt follow rules.
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read 3rd sentence.
Fish and wildlife officers later shot and killed the grizzly, which had been relocated just eight days earlier.
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Originally Posted by RubenZ
A beautiful animal was killed because some idiot biker couldnt follow rules.
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Still kicking.
That's what you get when you go hiking.
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Originally Posted by revmonkey
it's unfortunate, but personally i think its a risk that comes with doing htat sort of thing... and its quite rare as well...
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You people are putting a Human life below that of a bear..... I don't care how stupid this may have been, she wasn't doing anything wrong. The bear was apparently already a problem. That's why they re-located it in the 1st place..... I'd shoot it in a second if I'd been in the area. I'd carry a .357 or .44 magnum pistol with me @ all times if I lived somewhere like that....
Sorry if this post offends someone, but I really could care less....
Sorry if this post offends someone, but I really could care less....
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"A well-known competitive mountain biker killed by a grizzly bear was running on a trail in a wildlife corridor that people had been asked not to use, municipal and environmental officials said today."
apparently you didn't bother to read past the first sentence when you said "I don't care how stupid this may have been, she wasn't doing anything wrong."
apparently you didn't bother to read past the first sentence when you said "I don't care how stupid this may have been, she wasn't doing anything wrong."
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I dont normally agree with killing animals but it is mentioned the bear has been a problem elsewhere. Its unfortunate but at some point a bear becomes to used to humans and doesn't fear them (which most do)...
To be honest it sounds like a lot of human error was involved with a problem bear. Thats a disasterous combination.
To be honest it sounds like a lot of human error was involved with a problem bear. Thats a disasterous combination.
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Mael got it right....
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Not trying to flame, but I highly doubt a pistol would stop a grizzly. They are much, much larger than brown or black bears that are found in the eastern US/Canada.
Either way the story is a shame, between someone losing their life and the bear having to be shot.
Either way the story is a shame, between someone losing their life and the bear having to be shot.
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If it could survive 6 shots of a .44 magnum at less than 30 feet, I'd deserve to die....
I think it could stop it w/o a doubt myself.....
Sometimes you only get one shot at survival.... Don't blow it if it comes to your life.....
I think it could stop it w/o a doubt myself.....
Sometimes you only get one shot at survival.... Don't blow it if it comes to your life.....
Last edited by Killer B; 06-06-05 at 05:29 PM.
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Just as long as the bear meat gets put to good use, like feeding the needy.
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One thing you have to think about is that we have moved in on their habitat. The bear was just doing what it would usually do in the wild. What would you do if you came into contact with a bear?
I already have (while camping when I was 8). A bear walked into the campground 20-30ft away from us, coincidentally a dog named bear got loose from his owner and charged the bear. The dog was pretty big and managed to knock the bear over, then started to beat the crap out of the bear! The bear didn't know what had happened so it ran off; it was later found and reloacted farther north.
I already have (while camping when I was 8). A bear walked into the campground 20-30ft away from us, coincidentally a dog named bear got loose from his owner and charged the bear. The dog was pretty big and managed to knock the bear over, then started to beat the crap out of the bear! The bear didn't know what had happened so it ran off; it was later found and reloacted farther north.
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Originally Posted by Killer B
If it could survive 6 shots of a .44 magnum at less than 30 feet, I'd deserve to die....
I think it could stop it w/o a doubt myself.....
...
I think it could stop it w/o a doubt myself.....
...
A Grizz can survive that, at least long enough to kill you. Typical Grizzly round is a .458 Winchester Mag. about 400 grain. .45-70 also is good. Another big ass round.
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Originally Posted by Iron Chef
FWIW
A Grizz can survive that, at least long enough to kill you. Typical Grizzly round is a .458 Winchester Mag. about 400 grain. .45-70 also is good. Another big ass round.
A Grizz can survive that, at least long enough to kill you. Typical Grizzly round is a .458 Winchester Mag. about 400 grain. .45-70 also is good. Another big ass round.
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Never mind that there's no way you could even get six off if it were charging from 30 feet.
And what's with the 300 metre corridor? Do they have signs directing the wildlife to use the corridor, e.g. {Bear to the left, Deer to the right}
And what's with the 300 metre corridor? Do they have signs directing the wildlife to use the corridor, e.g. {Bear to the left, Deer to the right}
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The .44 would be better than nothing but killing a brown bear takes a well placed shot. The preferred cartridge by most people for these brutes is the .375 H&H, much, much more stopping power than a .44 magnum. And even then...
Having the gun and getting the opportunity to use it are two different things. Going out in bear country alone is taking a chance, even properly armed. Lots of cases of pairs of hunters being unable to successfully defend themselves from a grizzly attack.
What is truly sad is that this very dangerous type of bear was already identified as a problem and rather than putting it down considerable public money was wasted to, in the end, get an innocent person killed in a truly horrible way.
Having the gun and getting the opportunity to use it are two different things. Going out in bear country alone is taking a chance, even properly armed. Lots of cases of pairs of hunters being unable to successfully defend themselves from a grizzly attack.
What is truly sad is that this very dangerous type of bear was already identified as a problem and rather than putting it down considerable public money was wasted to, in the end, get an innocent person killed in a truly horrible way.
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that makes me laugh. A wild bear identitied as a problem. Well no SHYT its a problem. Its a wild animal.
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Originally Posted by phinney
The .44 would be better than nothing but killing a brown bear takes a well placed shot. The preferred cartridge by most people for these brutes is the .375 H&H, much, much more stopping power than a .44 magnum. And even then...
Having the gun and getting the opportunity to use it are two different things. Going out in bear country alone is taking a chance, even properly armed. Lots of cases of pairs of hunters being unable to successfully defend themselves from a grizzly attack.
What is truly sad is that this very dangerous type of bear was already identified as a problem and rather than putting it down considerable public money was wasted to, in the end, get an innocent person killed in a truly horrible way.
Having the gun and getting the opportunity to use it are two different things. Going out in bear country alone is taking a chance, even properly armed. Lots of cases of pairs of hunters being unable to successfully defend themselves from a grizzly attack.
What is truly sad is that this very dangerous type of bear was already identified as a problem and rather than putting it down considerable public money was wasted to, in the end, get an innocent person killed in a truly horrible way.
As I said before this was a series of stupid humans dealing with an obviously humanized (used to human habit) grizzly. That made the situation worse. The end result was tragic unforunately.