A man was saved from a bear attack by a can of self defense pepper spray here is the rest of the story from Edmont Journal:
EDMONTON – A mountain biker escaped serious injury Saturday when a grizzly bear he encountered punctured a can of pepper spray in his backpack.
“(The bear) certainly shredded that can,” said Steve Malcolm, a human wildlife conflict specialist with Jasper National Park.
“That would have been a nasty explosion into his mouth.”
Around 9 p.m., the lone cyclist crossed paths with a grizzly in the Cottonwood Slough area near Jasper. The bear charged, likely because it was startled, knocking the man off his bike face-down on the ground. The bear bit into the man’s backpack, bursting the can of pepper spray inside.
The Jasper man called park staff on his cellphone. They took him to hospital where he was treated and later released.
He suffered minor injuries, mostly from the pepper spray, but he did have claw marks and bruises on his back.
Malcolm said it wasn’t a predatory attack.
“(The bear) just wants to get rid of the threat and try to take off out of the area, so it’s not really an unsafe bear,” he said.
“However if this continued to happen every three or four days … then this would be a serious concern for us.”
Bears are “extremely food-stressed” right now because they’re just coming out of hibernation, Malcolm said. All of the food is in the valley bottoms, so it’s an active place for predators and prey.
The area around Patricia Lake and Cottonwood Slough will be shut down for three to four days to allow the bear to move on and ensure visitor safety, said Kim Weir, a spokeswoman for the park.
Visitors are urged to be vigilant and to carry pepper spray and a cellphone. Hikers and cyclists should be in groups, and should notify someone of their plans before setting out.
Self Defense Pepper Spray Saves a Man from a Bear Attack
No comments:
Post a Comment