Bear attack Mount Fromme British Columbia
It was only a matter of time before there was a bear attack in the North Shore mountains of British Columbia. This one took place yesterday on Mt. Fromme, a popular trail for hiking and biking enthusiasts. North Vancouver RCMP said it was called after five people encountered the bear on St. George’s and Peer Gynt Trail from the Upper Lonsdale area to Mt. Fromme.
A couple out on a hike in the beautiful wilderness started hearing rustling in the forest when suddenly a bear came onto the trail. They stopped and held their breath waiting for the black and muddy beast to wander away but it didn’t…..
British Columbia is the home to over 150,000 Black Bears and in May every year these 400-pound beauties are wide awake from a 5-month hibernation and looking for anything to eat.
Most times when bears hear human voices they make like the roadrunner and BEEP BEEP the heck outta there. But occasionally they have other ideas
The couple knew not to run but didn’t expect the bear to charge them multiple times. They kept expecting the bear to wander away, which is the usual scenario when a bear is encountered on a well used hiking trail, but this one seemed oddly persistent and interested in the humans. At one point the bear surprisingly approached the couple and took a swipe at the male hiker leaving him with a few deep scratches. The hikers also reported the bear climbing a nearby tree to get above them, an attempt to approach them from above and a show of strength. This also leads me to believe that this bear was young, inexperienced with humans and probably not fully grown yet. They were finally able to flag down a few more hikers and they all screamed at the bear to leave and go find some honey. OK, I made that part up but, but their screaming and yelling finally did encourage the bear to leave the area.
So my thoughts are “why didn’t the bear kill them or attack?” You must know that a bear’s strength is 6–12x more than a well trained person — or 100 of me (dang I need to hit the gym — bloody Covid). Anyhow, I believe this is a young black bear that didn’t know what a human was and he was testing the waters, as indicated by his repeated attempts to approach the humans. No animal wants to be injured going after food, so this bear was continually approaching these humans to see if they were a source of food or if they would be a threat to him — also an indication of his young age. This behavior is his way of testing for danger, after all any kind of injury, even a small cut, can lead to death of an animal in the great outdoors.
We must also remember that we are going into their home, not the other way around and we can’t always predict their behavior. This bear was hungry and desperate to eat. If it wasn’t for the other hikers that came along who knows what would have happened.
Local conservation officers are setting up Bear cages hopefully catch him and relocate him — for his safety and ours.
Mount Fromme is now closed until further notice.
Be safe out there, enjoy the outdoors and always Be Bear Aware.