It's been a year of frightening bear attacks. What's next according to bear researchers?

Bear attacks have loomed frighteningly large in the headlines this year. The most terrifying was a grizzly attack on a group of B.C. schoolchildren and teachers out on a hike in late November. Four people — three children and an adult — from Acwsalcta School near Bella Coola were seriously injured and airlifted to Vancouver for treatment.

In October, a B.C. man was attacked by a grizzly that ripped his scalp, tore off a finger and broke some of his bones. He fought back, punching, biting and shooting it in the leg. However, he succumbed to his injuries three weeks later, the Vancouver Sun reported. Also in October, an Alberta hunter was mauled by a grizzly and airlifted to hospital. The bear was shot and killed by the man’s hunting partner. The attack came just a few days after the killing of the first grizzly bear under a provincial program to deal with problem animals, reported the Calgary Herald. Two hikers on a trail near Prince George, B.C. were hospitalized after a grizzly attack in October. Back in July, a married couple were e-biking near Creston, B.C., when a grizzly attacked, putting the husband in hospital.  

In June, Parks Canada reported that a black bear was euthanized in Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park after acting aggressively toward humans. “While this was an isolated incident, we want to remind visitors that wildlife and public safety is a shared responsibility — we all have a role to play,” Parks Canada told the Herald.

According to numbers published in a report by The Origins Foundation, an organization dedicated to documenting stories about hunting, wildlife habitats and conservation, grizzly attacks appear to have grown, and fatalities may be increasing: there were six fatalities in Canada in 1990-1999 and five in the five years spanning 2020-2025. For black bears, there were four fatalities in 2020-2025, eight in the 1990s.

In assessing broader attack numbers, the foundation states: “The number of grizzly bear attacks surged to 11 in the 2020–2025 period — more than double that of any previous full decade. Since this figure covers only half a decade, the annual rate is significantly higher than in earlier periods. If this trend continues, the next decade could see a record number of grizzly fatalities.”

Regarding black bears, the foundation says: “Black bear attacks peaked at nine in the 2000–2009 decade. In the first five years of the 2020s, there have already been eight attacks and four fatalities, suggesting that the total for the decade could surpass past periods if the current pace continues.”

Most fatal grizzly bear attacks in Canada occur in British Columbia and Alberta, while fatal black bear attacks are distributed across multiple provinces, reflective of where these two species of bear live. According to estimates by Parks Canada, the grizzly population there is 691 in Alberta and up to 16,000 in British Columbia. The federal service says there are 65 in Banff National Park, 109 in Jasper National Park, 11 to 15 in Yoho National Park and nine to 16 in Kootenay National Park. In it’s latest report on grizzlies from September 2025, “up to 20,000 grizzly bears remain in western Alberta, the Yukon and Northwest Territories and British Columbia.”

Dr. Andy Derocher, a biology professor at the University of Alberta who has been studying bears for 40 years, told National Post in an email that grizzlies are suffering habitat loss or habitat degradation.

And with no hunting, he says, we can expect the grizzly bear population to increase to the level sustainable by their environment, then “expect more bears to disperse into areas they don’t currently live — places where we killed them all historically.” Grizzly bear hunting has been closed since 2017 in B.C. and 2006 in Alberta, he notes. Black bear hunts are managed across most of their range in the United States (35 states) and Canada, according to a report he co-wrote, Bears in North America: Habitats, hunting, and politics.

“Now add in more people moving further into the wilderness using ATVs, electric bikes, horses or hiking, and there is a greater chance of conflicts. Over time, we have seen more human-bear conflicts in parts of Alberta as grizzlies expand their range. I expect B.C. will have a lot more grizzly bear-human conflicts.”

Grizzlies, he says, have been sighted “in places they’ve not been seen before, such as the high Arctic, Manitoba, possibly in Ontario, Vancouver Island, Texada Island (in B.C.’s Strait of Georgia, where a grizzly was recently shot).

Annie Pumphrey, senior wildlife policy analyst with the BC Fish and Wildlife Branch, echoes this concern: “I would say that humans are crossing into zones (that bears inhabit) more so than bears crossing into human zones. In B.C. alone there are over 600,000 kilometres of resource roads which bring people deep into the backcountry with relative ease … Increased development is blocking (bear) travel corridors, leading them to seek alternative territory. Also, increasing drought is pushing bears into human-use areas in search of poorly secured human attractants (food, garbage and wildlife).”

Nonetheless, Derocher says concern about fatal bear attacks is unfounded. “The chances of being killed by a bear is similar to that of being killed by a bee sting. Bear attacks are extremely rare. I’d be far more worried about driving on the TransCanada Highway in winter than a bear attack.”

Both he and Pumphrey say stats on bear attacks aren’t reliable. How an attack is defined is “fluid and poorly defined,” says Derocher, ranging from one breaking into your cabin to injury and death. Moreover, there is no government database accounting for all bear encounters.

More to the point, Pumphrey contends, is that looking to bear attack statistics “diverts attention from the factors that matter most,”  which is “responsible human behaviour in bear country.” That includes managing items that can attract bears. It also includes knowing when and where to enjoy the outdoors so you will avoid bear encounters, she says.

Pumphrey contends timing may be more important than geography. “There is evidence that there are more bear attacks in fall to early winter.” That could be due to a variety of factors, such as hunting (for other wildlife). And in late fall, she notes, “bears enter a physiological state where they have heightened metabolic demand, which means they are foraging for food at higher rates to build fat reserves for winter.” Bears are more likely to be stressed at that time, she adds.

When attacks do occur, Pumphrey says they are more common with grizzlies than black bears. “There is an evolutionary reason for this. Black bears evolved in more forested areas where they could more easily avoid conflict with other bears by climbing trees or concealing themselves in the forest, which is why they are more likely to flee from perceived threats. Grizzly bears evolved in more open landscapes such as the prairies/tundra, where escape options are limited, and as a result are more likely to display defensive behaviour … to scare away perceived threats without engaging in physical contact.”

And many grizzly and black bears use “trail systems just as humans do.” Moreover, says Pumphrey, the bears will not back off their trails. “There are many reports of bears ‘following’ people, ‘attacking’ or ‘hunting’ them, when in the majority of cases the bear is simply walking down a pathway in the same direction as you are, and if you step off the path they will typically just walk right past you.”

In other words, she warns, stay on human hiking trails. “In popular areas with defined trails, bears will learn where people typically go and where to avoid them. Venturing off-trail into the backcountry increases your risk.”

Canadian and U.S. park services offer similar advice about how to stay safe in bear country.

First off is to make noise while hiking, says Parks Canada. And while bear spray is advised, don’t rely on it to keep you safe, says Parks Canada, noting its effectiveness will vary with wind conditions and distance from the bear. And note that it is not a repellent, says the U.S. National Parks Service, so do not apply to your body or equipment.

Here are some safety tips:

• If you encounter a bear, the first rule is to stay calm. The bear wants to know you’re not a threat.

• Pick up small children and stay in a group.

• Don’t drop your pack. It can provide protection if attacked.

• Back away slowly, don’t run. Bears can run as fast as a race-horse, both uphill and downhill.

• Talk calmly and firmly. If a bear rears on its hind legs and waves its nose about, it’s trying to identify you. Remain still and talk calmly so it knows you are a human and not a prey animal. A scream or sudden movement may trigger an attack.

• Do not run, but if the bear follows, stop and hold your ground.

• Do not climb a tree. Both grizzlies and black bears can climb trees.

• Leave the area or take a detour. If this is impossible, wait until the bear moves away. Always leave the bear an escape route.

The advice for how to handle an attack varies depending on what type of bear you have encountered.

If you are attacked by a grizzly bear, says the U.S. National Parks Service, leave your pack on and play dead. Lay flat on your stomach with your hands clasped behind your neck. Spread your legs to make it harder for the bear to turn you over. Remain still until the bear leaves the area. Fighting back usually increases the intensity of such attacks. However, if the attack persists, fight back vigorously. Use whatever you have at hand to hit the bear in the face.

The service says you shouldn’t play dead if you’re attacked by a black bear. Try to escape to a secure place such as a car or building. If escape is not possible, try to fight back using any object available. Concentrate your kicks and blows on the bear’s face and muzzle.

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