Minister says bear situation on the eastern slopes 'challenging' after fatal attack

There has been an increase in human interaction with bears in the area of Banff National Park where a couple was fatally attacked on Sept. 29, Alberta Minister Jason Nixon said speaking to the media on Monday. 

"This is an area on the back end of Banff National Park and the Ya Ha Tinda ranch which is a very, very remote place," said Nixon, whose electoral district, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, is near the attack area. 

"It is where grizzly bears call home and we are seeing the grizzly bear population recover significantly in those areas."

Nixon said that bear populations have rebounded "significantly" on the eastern slopes in comparison to other parts of the province, presenting what he called a unique challenge to the government as people continue to pursue recreation in that area. 

"[There] is a large population of bears out there ... certainly things have changed from 20 years ago when you would have went for a walk in that same area."

"So I think education is important, but at the same time, they sound like very experienced people in the backcountry. This is a very tragic circumstance for those two individuals and for their families."

At about 8 p.m. on Friday, Parks Canada said dispatchers received an alert an inReach GPS device about a bear attack west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, which is about 200 kilometres northwest of Calgary.

It immediately sent its Wildlife Human Attack Response Team to the area by ground because weather conditions in the mountains prevented it from using a helicopter.

The team arrived at about 1 a.m. Saturday and found two people dead, an earlier Parks Canada statement said.

Parks Canada said the team encountered a grizzly bear behaving aggressively and killed it to protect the public.

Grizzly bear experts say fatal attacks are extremely rare, but it's always a risk when people venture into the wilderness.

Kevin Van Tighem, who worked as a biologist in the national parks and wrote the book "Bears Without Fear," said it's tragic for the victims and their families.

"It's a horrible thing to have happen," he said in an interview. "The family doesn't come out of it (unscathed), so I really feel for everybody involved."

Van Tighem said he awaits more details from the Parks Canada investigation, but noted grizzly bear attacks are still unusual. His sister Patricia and her husband were badly injured in 1983 by a grizzly bear in Waterton Lakes National Park in southwestern Alberta.