Husband and wife killed in Banff bear attack

Two people are dead following a Friday night bear attack in Banff National Park.

According to Kim Titchener of Bear Safety and More, the victims were husband and wife.

She claims to be a friend of the family.

“They were great adventurers that spent a lot of time outside in bear country out in the outdoors and were very experienced backcountry folks,” Titchener said.

She added the couple’s dog was killed in the attack.

Parks Canada says the agency received a GPS alert from the Red Deer River Valley west of Sundre, indicating a bear attack at roughly 8 p.m. Friday night.

In response, a team trained in wildlife attacks travelled by ground through the night to investigate.

Due to weather conditions at the time, the team was unable to use helicopter transport.

According to Parks Canada, the team arrived at the scene of the attack at 1 a.m. Saturday morning, where they discovered two deceased individuals.

Later, the team encountered a grizzly bear displaying aggressive behaviour, leading staff to euthanize the animals out of public safety concerns.

As a bear safety advocate, Titchener says reported bear encounters are on the rise, but that isn’t necessarily translating to more attacks.

“Actual fatal attacks are extremely rare, sometimes we certainly do see a few attacks a year,” she said. “Maybe one or two fatal attacks across North America. But certainly not large numbers of them.”

Parks Canada has implemented an area closure in the Red Deer and Panther Valleys.

They say it will remain in effect until further notice.