A 36-year-old hunter was airlifted to a hospital after sustaining multiple injuries in a grizzly bear attack in British Columbia, Canada, authorities reported.
The incident occurred on a steep mountainside south of Elkford, within the Rocky Mountain range, on Thursday afternoon, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The hunter and his father were tracking a bear with dogs when an adult grizzly bear suddenly attacked him.
The hunter suffered “significant injuries,” including broken bones and lacerations, according to the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service, which was among the several agencies responding to the attack. Despite his injuries, the hunter was able to defend himself with his firearm, causing the bear to flee. His father then called for help.
Rescue teams moved the injured man approximately 650 feet down the mountainside. He was then airlifted by a helicopter long line to a hospital in Calgary, Alberta. The RCMP reported that the hunter was in stable condition when he left the scene.
Conservation officers later searched for the wounded grizzly bear and found it dead near the attack site shortly after 9 p.m. “Officers are confident that they located the bear involved in the attack. The bear succumbed to its wounds,” the Conservation Officer Service stated.
British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy confirmed that the man was airlifted to a hospital in another province but did not provide further updates on his condition.