After a Single Bear Attacked a Group of Schoolchildren on a Hike, B.C. Urged to Reopen Grizzly Hunts

Tribal members in remote British Columbia are staying inside after a grizzly bear attacked a group of school children Thursday near Bella Coola. The encounter injured 11 people, sending three students and one adult to the hospital. Officials said paramedics treated two people in critical condition and two in serious condition, though did not specify which were children. Seven others were treated at the scene.

The group of fourth and fifth graders were on a hike, and stopped for lunch along a riverside trail, reports APTN News. When a grizzly appeared too close to the group, teachers used bear spray and bear bangers, which are handheld noisemakers that fire projectiles that are designed to make noise, not strike bears. The bear was possibly injured in the encounter, and the B.C. Conservation Officer Service deployed eight officers to the area.

“I really need to stress how dangerous this situation is with this bear at large,” Kevin Van Damme, inspector of the BCCOS told NBC News. “I have not seen an attack like this, with a large group of people.”

Search crews have closed the scene and have asked people to stay indoors while the capture operation continues. They’re also looking for two other grizzlies that were reportedly in the area during the attack. Officials have concluded that they are likely a sow with two cubs.

“We recognize this incident is distressing for the community,” Van Damme said in a video statement. “We are in close contact with the Nuxalk Nation as our investigation continues. We thank them for their collaborative efforts to ensure community awareness and shared safety information.”

Grizzly attacks are, statistically speaking, rare, and it’s even more unusual for a bear to attack a large group of people. Still, the B.C. Wildlife Federation is calling for a change in wildlife management. The BCWF reports 15,000 of Canada’s 26,000 grizzly bears are in British Columbia, with attacks on humans doubling since the ban on grizzly bear hunting in the province started in 2017.

“With no hunting pressure, grizzlies and humans will increasingly occupy the same spaces with inevitable consequences,” said B.C. Wildlife Federation executive director Jesse Zeman. “This will keep getting worse until science-based wildlife management is reinstated.”

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Unsurprisingly, animal advocacy groups remain in favor of the ban on hunting grizzlies.

“You can’t use hunting as a management tool and expect it will reduce attacks,” claimed Grizzly Bear Foundation executive director Nicholas Scapillati in a statement to CBC News.