By Brandon Drenon, BBC News, Washington
An “aggressive” grizzly bear killed two people in Canada’s Banff National Park, park officials said Sunday.
They were informed of the incident Friday evening, after receiving a GPS alert to report bear attacks.
A specialist response team then traveled on foot overnight through the mountains and found the couple dead around five hours later.
The bear, which still displayed aggressive behavior, was euthanized on site “to ensure public safety,” authorities said.
This is the second deadly grizzly bear attack in North America since July.
When the alarm was raised around 8:00 p.m. MT (03:00 BST) on Friday, Parks Canada immediately mobilized a response team against human attacks on wildlife, according to a press release.
Weather conditions prevented authorities from reaching the scene of the attack by helicopter.
They traveled by land and arrived in the middle of the night around 1 a.m. Saturday.
The bodies of the victims were removed from the scene in the Red Deer River Valley around 5 a.m. local time – with the assistance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – and taken to Sundre, Alberta, more than 300 km away of the.
Authorities have not identified the victims, but a family member told Canadian media they were a couple who were experienced backcountry hikers.
“They lived in the backcountry and were two of the most careful people I knew. They knew bear protocol and followed it to the letter,” the family member told CBC News in a statement.
The family member said the couple’s dog was also killed by the grizzly bear.
According to Parks Canada, approximately 691 grizzly bears live in Alberta, including 65 in Banff National Park.
According to Reuters, only 14 percent of grizzly bear attacks are fatal, but as more people head outdoors, encounters between humans and bears are increasing.
In July, a grizzly bear fatally mauled a woman on a forest trail west of Yellowstone National Park.
Following the attack on Banff National Park, authorities closed an area around the Red Deer and Panther valleys, Parks Canada said.
“This is a tragic incident and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” officials said.
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