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By Ashley Joannou
Conservation officers in British Columbia are no longer actively trying to capture the grizzly bear responsible for last month’s “extraordinary attack” on a group of schoolchildren and teachers that left four with severe injuries.
A statement from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service on Friday said DNA and other forensic evidence had ruled out the involvement of four bears that were captured on Wednesday.
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It said there had been no other bear sightings in the area of the attack around Bella Coola, B.C., for the past five days.
“Based on this factor and due to the time of year, when bears begin denning, officers are no longer actively trying to capture bears, and equipment has been removed,” it said.
The service said it would work with the Nuxalk Nation to “identify and find solutions to safely coexist with bears” and that a full-time conservation officer has been posted in Bella Coola, about 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
Three students in an elementary class and a school staff member were badly injured in the attack that came as their group of 20 ate lunch during a field trip on Nov. 20. Seven other people were treated at the scene.
The service said 24 conservation officers had been involved in efforts to find the bear over two weeks, including officers who drove overnight to hand-deliver animal samples for testing to a forensics lab at the University of Alberta.
“This was an extraordinary response to an extraordinary attack — our investigation determined the behaviour and actions of this bear were aggressive and unlike any other documented grizzly bear attack we have seen in B.C., or Canada,” said Insp. Kevin Van Damme of the conservation service.
“We truly appreciate and value the support we received from our partners, including the Nuxalk Nation and their guardians, RCMP, forensics lab staff and ministry partners, who worked alongside us throughout this incident.”
A total of at least eight bears were captured after the attack. The latest four — an adult female and three cubs — will be released far from Bella Coola, as were the previous four bears.
Chief Samuel Schooner previously called the attack a moment of “life and death” and praised the heroics of the teachers who drove the animal off.
Boy, 10, felt bear’s fur
Veronica Schooner, whose 10-year-old son Alvarez was in the Year 4-5 class that was attacked, said he was so close to the animal “he even felt its fur.”
“He was running for his life,” she said hours after the attack, in which she said one male teacher “got the whole brunt of it.”
More than $100,000 was raised to support the families of those injured with medical and related expenses.
Conservation officers said at the time that they believed they were looking for a sow and her two cubs and were using tools including drones equipped with thermal cameras.
Friday’s statement said an information session on the incident was attended by more than 100 people on Thursday.
“We welcomed the opportunity to further connect with residents, outline the steps we have taken, and try to answer any questions,” Van Damme said in the statement.
“We remain committed to the community, continue to support the Nuxalk Nation, and will closely monitor and respond to any concerning bear activity going forward.”
— with files by Nono Shen
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