Black bear runs down and mauls bicyclist in Canadian park ( Bring back the hunting seasons )

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ^ | May 15, 2006 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

[george76]

A black bear chased, caught and mauled a bicycle rider on a mountain trail in Canada's oldest and most popular national park, and was shot and killed when it refused to leave the area, a warden said.

The biker, Greg Flaaten, 41, a Web administrator for the town of Banff, was being treated for severe arm injuries at Foothills Hospital in Calgary following the attack, and reconstructive surgery in the biceps and triceps area was scheduled Monday.

Authorities initially feared Flaaten might lose his arm, but that concern was eased when a key artery was found to be intact, maintaining circulation to the lower part of the arm, said Ian Syme, chief warden for Banff National Park.

A bear evidently ran down and attacked Flaaten on Friday evening along the heavily wooded Hoodoos-Bow River Trail through the park east of the town...

"We heard he had been chased on the bicycle for a while," Syme said. "We're not sure how far that was.

Certainly at the time when you are chased like that, things can seem to be a lot longer than they might be, but apparently he was chased."

Flaaten was found around 8 p.m. after two acquaintances, Robert Earl and Robin Borstmayer, saw his bike and a broken helmet near the trail, then heard him calling for help.

They spotted Flaaten nearby, along with dragging marks and signs of a struggle.

[Fair Go]

Ping!

[sig226]

"Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away."

I'd rather spray lead.

[Quix]

Man (Freeper kanawa) stabs bear to death
The Record.com ^ | Jul 22, 2006 | MELINDA DALTON

Posted on 07/22/2006 6:30:03 PM MDT by kanawa

A Waterloo man and his dog made a harrowing escape from the clutches of a vicious black bear Thursday while portaging near Wawa, Ont.

Tom Tilley, 55, killed the nearly 200-pound bear by jumping on its back and stabbing the aggressive animal with a six-inch hunting knife after his dog alerted him and distracted the bear.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1670661/posts

Cross-ref to another bear story.

jm