Fatal Bear Attack Shows Need for Vigilance
April 17, 2003
Ontario Forestry Safe Workplace Association (OFSWA)
A fatal encounter between a forestry worker and a black bear in northern Quebec this past spring underlines in the worst possible way the need for workers to be aware of the risk of bear encounters and of how to deal with such encounters.
The incident occurred on April 17, near Waswanipi, a village 154 kilometers west of Chibougamau. A logging foreman with Norbord Industries in Senneterre, QC had gone out alone to survey cut sites for the coming summer. Investigators concluded from tracks in the snow and other evidence that while the foreman was surveying a site, the bear left its den and walked parallel to him for about 50 meters. The bear then moved ahead of him, eventually confronted him and charged. Judging from the pattern of tracks, the worker turned and ran from the bear for about 15 meters before he was struck down and mauled. It’s believed that death was instantaneous. The bear then dragged the worker into its den.
The next day, Good Friday, a search and rescue team found the company truck and snowmobile. Following foot tracks in the snow, they found a hardhat and boots on the ground with bear tracks all around them. They followed the trail to the den, where they shot a 400-pound male bear and recovered the victim’s body. Tissue samples from the bear later tested negative for rabies or any other illness.
J.P. Cousineau, Human Resources Health and Safety Superintendent at Norbord’s hardwood plywood mill in Cochrane, said the incident had a devastating effect on the victim’s co-workers and associates. “The week after, the same operational people went back into the bush and one of the guys, against all odds, tripped over an adult bear that was sleeping. It’s pretty touchy in that area and I don’t blame anyone for being upset. It was a pretty isolated type of attack, but it did happen. There are more bears in Ontario with the spring hunt being out of the picture. But we can’t really help that, other than supplying the necessary information to avoid this kind of interaction.”
In addition to offering psychological assistance, Norbord management in Senneterre and La Sarre, QC immediately began developing a procedure for working alone. The procedure includes radio contact with a supervisor at regular intervals, an emergency response plan if radio contact from a worker is one hour late, a mandatory “pen gun” (a small device that shoots a noisy mini-firework) and pepper spray for any worker who works alone, and mandatory written reports within 24 hours of every encounter with potentially dangerous animals.
The April incident was the third black bear-related fatality in Canada in less than a year. Last September, a hunter was attacked and killed by a bear in his campground in the Gaspé region of Quebec. That same month, an Alberta man was mauled to death by a black bear at a remote oil rigging site in northeastern British Columbia.
Experts on black bear behavior advise that under no circumstances should a person turn and run away from a black bear, as this will trigger a bear’s hunting/pursuit response and bears can easily outrun humans. They have been recorded running at speeds of 50 km/h [35 mph].
Even in the extremely rare case of an encounter with a predatory bear that has been stalking its intended victim and has begun to press closer and even gives evidence of its intention to charge, the best advice is to be aggressive, throw rocks or sticks and make as much noise as possible.
OFSWA has published an information guide for tree planters, “Dealing with Black Bears”. The information in the booklet is useful to anyone who works in the bush. The booklet is available from OFSWA for $1. The Ontario Ministry of Natural has produced a brochure, Living with Black Bears in Ontario, that is available free from any MNR office or as a PDF file from: www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/pubs/pubmenu.html
Article source: http://www.ofswa.on.ca/thelog/july_2003/july_03_page_4.pdf
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