A Canmore, Alberta woman and her dogs were chased by a grizzly bear while kick-sledding on the Spray River Trail in Banff National Park last Saturday.
They were about 600 metres away from the parking lot when she first saw the bear. The woman sped up, and looking behind her she saw that the bear had sped up as well.
Bill Hunt, the resource conservation manager for Banff, relayed the story to CBC.
“She stopped the sled and made her presence known to the bear by yelling and waving her arms to make sure the bear understood that there was a person associated with the sled and the dogs.”
She continued to retreat while repeating this process three or four time until finally the bear broke off, leaving the woman with a chance to get to her vehicle.
“A lot of these incidents or interactions are linked to people moving quickly or quickly on skis or bikes and surprising wildlife,” he said. “So making noise can do a lot to increase safety.”
