BANFF, Alberta --A black bear chased down and mauled a bicyclist on a mountain trail in Canada’s most popular national park, the park’s warden said.
The bear was later shot to death, and the cyclist was being treated for severe arm injuries at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, with reconstructive surgery in his biceps and triceps scheduled Monday.
Authorities said Greg Flaaten, 41, a Web administrator for the town of Banff, was attacked by the bear Friday evening along the heavily wooded Hoodoos-Bow River Trail in Banff National Park.
“We heard he had been chased on the bicycle for a while,” said Ian Syme, the park’s chief warden.
Shortly after the attack, two people on the trail spotted Flaaten’s bike and a broken helmet and heard him calling for help. The bear was still pacing the area, so they called in the warden, who killed the animal.
Syme said the bear was about 140 pounds, much lighter than a normal, healthy bear.
Predatory attacks by bears are rare – 95 percent of the time the bear runs away, Syme said. Those that do occur are almost always in self-defense or a female bear defending her cubs, he said.
Or a shark. Remember last summer sharks were eating people left right and center and it was all over the news…then someone ruined the story by quoting some boring statistics that shark attacks were not in fact up and that the whole thing was a media feeding frenzy.
It’s all due to GOBAL WARMING! GLOBAL WARMING will be the death of us, I tell ya!
Naaaaa, more to do with people building houses and infringing on the habitat of wild animals. I had a big Coyote eye me hungrily on Sunday morning 2 miles from lots of homes, but I think he figured I was too fat and not very healthy to eat.
Wow, 140 lbs is tiny for a bear… well, that’s my understanding anyway. I’m going to venture to guess that he was on a trail… it’d be pretty hard for a bear to get you on a road or tri bike. That said, I saw a black bear just off the road on a bike ride last week.
Sun, May 14, 2006Vicious bear attackUPDATED: 2006-05-14 20:03:03 MSTMauling victim expected to surviveBy TARINA WHITE, CALGARY SUN
A Banff local who narrowly escaped being mauled to death by a black bear is expected to survive but may lose an arm that was severely damaged in the attack. Greg Flaaten’s relatives flew to Calgary from his native Saskatchewan to set up a bedside vigil at Foothills Hospital on the weekend. Family spokeswoman Mary Ann Flaaten said her brother-in-law is scheduled for another surgery Monday. “Greg has been through a horrific ordeal and has sustained very serious injuries,” she said Sunday. “We remain cautiously optimistic that his condition will continue to improve.” The vicious attack in the Tunnel Mountain area Friday night has left Greg’s friends and family reeling, said Mary Ann. “Greg is such a kind and caring person and has many close friends that this has also affected,” she said, expressing her gratitude to the many people who have shown their support. Banff National Park’s Chief Warden Ian Syme said Greg, 41, lost extensive muscle in a tricep and bicep in one of his arms and broke a shoulder blade. “He’s got some pretty serious arm injuries to the point where at first we thought he may lose his arm,” said Syme. Mary Ann declined to comment on whether surgery had been successful to maintain the arm. Friends who have spoken to Greg said the young adult bear, about four years old, chased him while he was riding his bike, said Syme. Greg, a web administrator for the Town of Banff, was rescued by two acquaintances who were biking along the popular Hoodos-Bow River Trail and heard his cries for help shortly after 8 p.m. Banff Mayor John Stutz is one of many locals in the tightly-knit community who knows Greg personally. “I am very, very concerned and hope that Greg gets through this as best as he can,” said Stutz. The harrowing incident is a reminder to the importance of adhering to safety measures such as not entering the park alone, said town Coun. Bob Haney. “We’ll all start thinking about how we use the trails and making ourselves more aware,” he said. The black bear that attacked Greg has been shot and killed, said Syme. The area where the attack took place remained closed yesterday but was expected to reopen Monday, he said.
