A Grizzly bear searches for food as he fishes in Khutze Inlet near Princess Royal Island, B.C.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
The search for a Grizzly bear – and possibly her two cubs – believed to be responsible for a shocking attack on a school group in this central coast community expanded on Saturday, with a predator attack response team on the ground and an RCMP helicopter searching for heat signatures in the dense forest.
Four people – a teacher and three young students – were airlifted to hospital Thursday after the attack. They were among a school group of Grades 4 and 5 students. In all, 11 were injured. Bear behavourists say the attack on such a large group is exceptionally rare.
Residents in the Nuxalk First Nation community of Four Mile, where the attack occurred, have been asked to remain indoors, or to use transportation services to avoid walking outdoors while the bear or bears responsible for the attack are still unaccounted for. Local trails have been closed with pink flagging tape to keep the search area clear.
Nuxalk Chief Councillor Samuel Schooner, speaking at a news conference Saturday, pleaded with locals to leave the bear search to the Conservation Officer Service, or COS, team. “We know that people want to try to help,” he said. “I don’t need any other people in the woods.”
Sgt. Jeff Tyre of the CSO said, based on witness statements, that they believe the bear that attacked the group was a mother grizzly with her two cubs. The search team is setting snares and live traps but so far no animals have been caught, he said. Any bears that are trapped will be tested against DNA evidence to determine if they were involved. If they are not a DNA match, they will be relocated. He said surveillance shows there are still many grizzlies in the area.
The valley bottom along the Bella Coola river is difficult terrain for a search, especially in the winter rains, and officers are in the field around the clock.
Sgt. Tyre cautioned that trapping the bears may take some time. “The bears don’t necessarily cooperate, but we’re doing everything we can, working with the RCMP and the Nation,” he said. “This is, speaking from experience, probably the most dangerous thing that conservation officers do, especially dealing with family units with sows.”
The group of about 20 students was on a field trip and had just stopped for lunch when a bear emerged from the woods and attacked. Teachers used bear spray and bear bangers to fight the animal.
Chief Schooner said the four individuals who were seriously injured are showing signs of improvement, “but it’s going to be a long road to recovery, not only physically but mentally.”
The Nuxalk community is reeling from the highly unusual attack, he added. “For thousands of years we have lived side by side in harmony,” he said. “This is bear country.”