Bella Coola grizzly bear attack, Digi Mart USA News (Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada): Four grizzly bears, apparently showing a rare predatory behavior, were involved in the fatal early November attack that killed a mother and her daughter in western Canada, authorities said Tuesday.
Forensic analyses confirmed that four grizzlies, captured by officers, were involved in the attack that killed two people near Bella Coola, in the province of British Columbia, provincial conservation services said in a statement. The four bears, a mother and her three cubs, were shot, they added.
The two victims, whose bodies were found earlier in the previous week, were a mother and daughter who had gone hiking on a trail not far from their home. Wildlife officers said the investigation showed the bears had probably displayed predatory behavior, noting that fatal grizzly attacks involving predatory behavior are rare.
The provincial services did not explain the causes of this behavior. A school group had been attacked by a bear in the same area last November, and eleven people, including children, were injured, some seriously.
DNA tests performed on the four bears that were shot confirmed they were not involved in that attack.
Grizzly bears can be very aggressive at this time of year, when they seek to build up fat reserves before hibernation.
