Story at a glance
- A black bear fatally mauled a 26-year-old helicopter engineer in a rare attack on Saturday in remote West Alberta.
- Witnesses, including a co-worker, were reportedly able to ward off the predator before calling for help.
- Authorities said the woman was planting trees in the isolated region before the attack.
A black bear fatally mauled a 26-year-old helicopter engineer in a rare attack on Saturday in remote West Alberta, authorities said.
Witnesses, including a co-worker, were reportedly able to ward off the predator before calling for help, according to The Guardian. Authorities said the woman was planting trees in the isolated region before the attack. The victim’s family has asked that she remain anonymous.
“She was evacuated by her co-worker on a helicopter and brought back to the Swan Hills airport where they met up with an ambulance, emergency crews, and she was subsequently declared deceased at the airport,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesperson Troy Savinkoff said, according to The Guardian.
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Alberta Fish and Wildlife confirmed that the bear involved in the attack has been apprehended and euthanized, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported. Authorities built a DNA profile for the bear based on samplings left on the woman’s clothes and set up cameras to track it.
“On Aug. 2, the analysis confirmed a profile match to one of the bears, an adult female that did not appear to have cub,” according to a government statement, per the CBC.
“The bear that killed the woman was euthanized in accordance with the Black Bear Response Guide,” the statement said. “This decision is never made lightly, and when it is made, it is to prevent more attacks by that particular bear.”
Before Saturday, five other fatal black bear attacks have been reported in Alberta since 1958.
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