Canada: Man Killed by Bear in British Columbia

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I did not find any mention of hunting or shooting from the couples facebook pages, so it seems likely that they did not have any firearms with them when the attack occurred.    A couple of days before the attack, the young woman posted a video on facebook showing a solitary wolf visiting their campsite. 

The firepit that the wolf is sniffing around may be where Ward O’connor fell asleep.  The video was taken from the couple’s motorhome.  A visitor on facebook describes it as a van, so it is probably one of the smaller models.   A commenter on the site sent an eerily prescient message.   From facebook/jamiwallace:

Gabrielle Louisa Parker On my, what a scary and exciting experience. you guys have any weapons for protection?

The morning after the attack, Ward’s fiancee, Jami Wallace, found evidence of an attack.   She follow a blood trail from the campsite, found the body, then returned to get help.    Ward’s father rushed to the campsite, but could not get near the body because the bear was guarding its kill.  From cbc.ca:

Danny O’Connor rushed to the campground and started searching through the bush for his son.

“I wanted to get out there and see if I could save him,” he said.

“When I got there the bear was there,” standing over his son’s body, he said. “I couldn’t go closer.”

It takes a brave man to rush to the scene of a man killing bear attack, unarmed.   With the Canadian gun laws, it is likely that he was unable to borrow a gun from a neighbor.   We can never know if a firearm could have been used to save Ward.   The attack may have been so sudden as to prevent any resistance.  Ms. Wallace has not mentioned that she heard any commotion in the night.

After officers arrived, they shot a lone wolf before they discovered the black bear.  It is likely that the wolf was the one in the video.   They shot the 300 pound bear a little later.   Subsequent investigation showed that the attacking animal was a bear.

Bears are hungry this time of year; and a sleeping human smells a lot like an easy meal.

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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