On Thursday, November 20, a grizzly bear attacked a group of school children and their teachers on a trail in British Columbia, Canada. The incident left 11 people injured, two of them critically.
The group consisted of two teachers and 20 fourth- and fifth-graders from Acwsalcta School, which the Nuxalk Nation runs. They were on an outing in a valley near the town of Bella Coola and stopped for lunch at around midday. At this point, the bear emerged from the forest and charged at them.
The teachers were well-equipped and fended the animal off with bear spray and noisemakers, putting themselves between the students and the bear.
Veronica Schooner, a parent of one of the 10-year-olds on the trip, commented that one male teacher “got the whole brunt of it.” Paramedics rushed to the scene after receiving a call about the attack. The male teacher and one other person were critically injured. Two others sustained serious injuries. All four were eventually airlifted to the hospital. Seven others were treated at the scene.
Nuxalk Nation Chief Samuel Schooner commented on the “significant trauma” the incident has caused to both the school group and the wider community.
Heroic actions
“We are incredibly proud of our teachers and students who responded heroically in the moment to protect one another,” he said. He did not comment on the condition of those who had been seriously injured.
According to officials, the bear seemed unusually aggressive and was potentially acting erratically due to a prior injury. Speaking about the attack, Kevin Van Damme from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said, “I really need to stress how dangerous the situation is with this bear at large. We need to keep people away from the area.”
In 34 years of working in the region, he has never known a grizzly attack on such a large group of people.
The school has temporarily closed, and conservation officers are patrolling the area. They have set traps for the bear and have collected forensic evidence to identify exactly which animal attacked the group. They are asking residents to stay indoors until the bear is found.
