Some of you may have heard of the Grizzly bear attack that killed two people in Alberta. Other people have asked about it. People know that my city is Red Deer. The site of the attack was described as the Red Deer River Valley.
The attack site was west of Sundre , AB which is about 50 km from me. To be more precise the attack took place in the area of the Ya Ha Tinda ranch which is used to keep the horses for Banff National park. Ya Ha Tinda is 2 hr and 20 min from where I live.
The head waters of the Red Deer river begin in that area where several small streams join. . The river continues east across Alberta for 724 km before joining the South Saskatchewan River .
When you hike in the Rocky mountains grizzly bear evidence is very obvious. The bears dig up great chunks of soil looking roots to feed on. Sometimes you find several acres that have been rooted up. When we would get to these areas we would make as much noise as possible as the idea is that the bear doesn't want to see you and will run away. I have never seen a grizzly bear in the wild even though we've gone by some very recent diggings.
I have never hiked in this area as there are many other areas that have easier access. These photos are from the Abraham Lake area.
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The two people who were killed were very experienced hikers. They were well prepared for bears. It's very sad that they likely did all the right things but were still killed.
May they rest in peace
ReplyDeleteStay Safe
Bears are rarely seen here. The location of this attack was in the rocky Mountains.
DeleteAn awesome looking place. You can understand why humans want to visit the bears' home area...but...
ReplyDeleteThere are many beautiful and easily accessible areas for hiking. There are rarely any problems.
DeleteI think I'm rather a coward. I'm not sure I'd want to go anywhere near Grizzly Bears.
ReplyDeleteThe bears want to stay away from humans. Sometimes humans accidentally get between the bear and it's food.
DeleteVery sad indeed! Take care, have a great day!
ReplyDeleteIt is tragic!
ReplyDeleteVery sad.
DeleteWhat away to go! Wow!
ReplyDeleteTerrible.
DeleteIt is tragic for all. A 25-year-old bear with bad teeth. Likely grumpy. I would be.
ReplyDeleteApparently the bear they found in the area is as you described.
DeleteSo very sad. I heard the bear also killed their dog.
ReplyDeleteSurprising to me that the dog was killed.
DeleteThose hikes of yours look pretty scary to me, Red.
ReplyDeleteI was not a mountain climber. The photo shows scrambling where you have to also use hands.
DeleteI've seen one wild grizzly... from the safety of my car... inside Yellowstone National Park. So I'm not sure that really counts.
ReplyDeleteI'm not counting. I've seen a few black bears and I give them lots of space.
DeleteI heard that this happened but I don't know the details. I remember when I hiked in Glacier National Park I had to wear bells so that I would make noise on the trail.
ReplyDeleteYes, we used bells and whistles and me with my two rocks to bang together.
DeleteWhat a tragedy for those hikers and heartbreaking for their families.
ReplyDeleteThey were passionate about the mountains and hiking. They were well equipped and experienced.
DeleteVery sad and they were prepared but still lost their lives. I would never want to hike in an area that has grizzly bears.
ReplyDeleteI hiked for about 20 years and never saw a bear but did see a lot of evidence.
DeleteTheir ordeal doesn't bear thinking about. (no pun intended it is a great tragedy)
ReplyDeleteA tragic loss .
DeleteI remember reading that they were very knowledgable. I have been to Banff and seen both grizzlies and brown bears feeding on dandelion flowers or going through trash. I think they are getting to much pressure. I take it the bears did not eat them?
ReplyDeleteYes, these two were knowledgeable.
DeleteI have seen grizzlies and brown bears in Banff and avoided them. We always spend small fortune $25-30 on bear spray, but never have had to use it. I wonder what we can learn from this?
ReplyDeleteThere has not been a bear incident for many years. I'd have to look up when there last was an attack.
DeleteSo sad ...bears are so unpredictable.
ReplyDeleteI often think about you and the bears you have in your area.
DeleteI had mapped it with relation to your home and saw it was relatively near you. A sad incident. Do you think the grizzlies, like black and brown bears in other parts of the West, are becoming less fearful of humans and more aggressive?
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the grizzlies. My son in Maple Ridge , B.C. heard noise at his front door one night. He went to investigate and found a bear on his doorstep.
DeleteA terrible tragedy - but fortunately a pretty rare event. I am quite surprised that you never saw a grizzly bear in the wild.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said. if they know you're in the area they will leave.
DeleteI didn't hear about this. So sad.
ReplyDeleteThere is discussion about reintroducing grizzlies into our Cascade Mountains. Not so sure I like that.
Bears will try to stay away from you if possible.
DeleteWe only have black bear in my area, and they are, for the most part, harmless. They have very poor vision. William and my husband were crossing the road and Tim heard rustling in the brush and Tim stopped William. "Watch and see" he whispered. Seconds later, a bear came out of the brush and crossed the road about 100 feet from where they stood. William was shocked silent. The bear never saw them and they were down wind. Had he got wind of them, it would have been just as you describe...the bear would have disappeared. We do have the occasional problem, and it almost always involves food. A bear once ripped the screen door off a house because he smelled bacon cooking. He had become comfortable around humans.
ReplyDeleteI read about this, such a tragedy, and with experienced hikers too. You just never know. The only time I have ever seen grizzlies in the wild is on a bus tour going through Denali. We saw several within feet at times. One scary moment was seeing a cyclist being chased by a big old bear. The cyclist managed to throw his bike down in front of our bus, the driver had opened the door, and the cyclist stayed with us until he was safe enough to continue his ride. I'm thinking the way the bus driver reacted so quickly, he must have seen this happen before.
ReplyDeleteVery sad.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting story but sad about the bear killings. Those pictures look like serious hiking. By the way, re Banff … In the early 2000s I rode VIA Rail from Vancouver to Toronto. We stopped in Banff and had a chance to walk around near the train. Wow, that is beautiful country!
ReplyDeleteJust heard about this today. So very sad, and what a terrible way to go. Many years ago there was a story in Reader's Digest about teenagers who were camping in tents and were killed by a grizzly bear. That story stayed with me and bothered me for years. I would wake up during the night thinking about being killed by a bear. Enjoyed your pictures. Looks awfully dangerous there and even more dangerous knowing there were grizzly bears in the area. :)
ReplyDeleteoh this is sad story dear Red .
ReplyDeletebear must be huge as they are mostly in geographic shows ,big ,scary and wild beasts .
thanks for sharing images from your hiking what an adventure .river look quite below .2016 is not that old and you still did some wonderful hikes wow
Those are very nice photos hiking above Abraham Lake! I stayed in the area for a few nights this past May but did not hike trails with large elevation gains.
ReplyDeleteI had many bear encounters over the years while out hiking, in all cases both the bears and us did what we should and there were no negative out comes.
I hiked Maze Peak in the Ya Ha Tinda area back on October 26 of 2018. I remember it being so beautiful out there and also so very wild. I could see why the couple from Lethbridge would have gone there for a trip. Everything about being in that area for an adventurous, nature-loving, experienced couple like that, would bring the utmost fulfillment. I felt very sad for the couple and for the bear when I heard about this tragedy.