Distressing news of the sudden passage of individuals without any warning is a gut-wrenching feeling for the family of the deceased. But when a signaled message is sent right before their fated demise, things seem to get heavy quickly and make us question everything to do with the attack.
According to People’s reports, they previously covered a couple who was killed by a grizzly bear last week while they were taking a walk in the Banff National Park on Friday in Canada. Their family member followed up with the media after the accident and shared the distressing text the couple sent right before the attack.
People report that the two backcountry campers, Doug Inglis, 62, and Jenny Gusse, 62, were identified by Doug’s uncle, Colin Inglis. Canadian Broadcaster CBC via People reports Colin’s statement after the attack, saying, “They are a couple that loved each other and loved the outdoors. And they were highly, highly experienced in being out back, whether it be serious treks or canoeing, whitewater canoeing in the North country.” He added, saying that the victims were continuously updating him throughout their journey through their Garmin inReach, which is a commonly used GPS amongst campers and hikers that allows texting from remote locations.
On the morning of September 29, Colin recalls, as he dictates the incident to CBC via People, that the couple alerted them that they had not reached their hiking destination on the said date. Instead, they decided to set up camp somewhere else and cook dinner.
The same evening, Colin recalls a distressing SOS from the Garmin GPS that read, “’Bear attack bad.'” In addition to the Garmin message, the Parks Canada Agency was made aware that there was an alert indicating a bear attack was at the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch at around 8 p.m. MT on Friday.
Colin was quick to notify Parks Canada, who then dispatched a rescue team to the location via helicopter at 10:30 p.m. However, the scheduled 2 a.m. landing could not be fulfilled due to unfavorable weather cast. People report that after the response team arrived, they found the couple and their border collie mauled to death, said Colin, reports Calgary Head. The same source revealed that one of them was not in the tent while the other went to fight the bear. He added saying, “There was a struggle and the struggle didn’t stay in one place,” he said. “One can of bear spray had been fully discharged but this bear was not to be deterred.”
Colin also shared via People that once the response team found and tended to the deceased couple and their canine friend, they spotted the grizzly responsible for the attack and were forced to shoot it down. Thereafter, they closed the area off to hikers.
People report via Parks Canada, “Bear attacks are rare occurrences. Fatal bear attacks are even less frequent. Over the last 10 years, there have been three recorded non-fatal, contact encounters with grizzly bears in Banff National Park. These incidents were the result of surprise encounters. This incident is the first grizzly bear-caused fatality recorded in Banff National Park in decades.”
Reuters reported a statement made by Kim Titchener, a friend of the family and the founder of Bear Safety and More, saying, “It’s really just the reason why we’re seeing more attacks, which is more people heading outdoors and unfortunately not being educated on this.”
People also reported, ‘Both grizzly and black bears inhabit the Banff National Park area, and Titchener told Reuters that the estimated 60 grizzly bears living there are considered to be a threatened population in local Alberta.’
Better awareness programs and secured man-animal borders must be defined to avoid further bear attacks that have picked up fervor over the past few months.