JRO
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This is just terrible. Something should be done...
Bizarre motorcycle crash claims grizzly's life
Richard Cuthbertson, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, August 04, 2008
A grizzly bear was killed in a bizarre road accident Saturday afternoon, struck down by a motorcycle in western Alberta.
The 50-year-old Calgary woman driving the motorbike was thrown onto the Kananaskis County roadway, but escaped the frightening ordeal without serious injuries.
The bear death is the third in the past week in Calgary's mountainous back yard.
On July 26, a six-year-old grizzly was shot on the Morley reserve, about halfway between Calgary and Banff.
The motorcyclist was out for a drive with her husband, who was riding his own bike and witnessed the collision around 3:45 p.m. Saturday.
"It stopped, the lady kept going," said Jamie Campbell of Foothills Regional EMS, describing what happened to the motorbike when it struck the bear. "She went up and over the handlebars and landed on the pavement, and then the bike skidded down the road."
The woman, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, was taken to hospital with injuries to her hands.
"There's lots of wildlife that gets hit, but not bears and motorcycles very often, so this is quite uncommon," Mr. Campbell said Saturday. "Deer versus cars -- lots. Occasionally deer versus motorcycle. I don't think I've done a bear versus motorcycle in my career yet."
Mr. Campbell said the woman is lucky to come away without more serious injuries. "A bear's pretty solid, so she's going to stop all of a sudden," he said.
Last Tuesday, a park warden shot a black bear in Lake Louise. The animal was acting aggressively, but DNA tests proved it was not the same bear that attacked a jogger a month ago.
A recent study by Parks Canada found grizzly bear deaths due to human activity were bringing the animal to dangerously low levels in Banff National Park.
The report, which looked at all known grizzly deaths in the mountain parks over an 18-year period, found that half of the animals killed were females. The largest killer was trains, with bears attracted to grain spilled along the tracks.
Bizarre motorcycle crash claims grizzly's life
Richard Cuthbertson, Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, August 04, 2008
A grizzly bear was killed in a bizarre road accident Saturday afternoon, struck down by a motorcycle in western Alberta.
The 50-year-old Calgary woman driving the motorbike was thrown onto the Kananaskis County roadway, but escaped the frightening ordeal without serious injuries.
The bear death is the third in the past week in Calgary's mountainous back yard.
On July 26, a six-year-old grizzly was shot on the Morley reserve, about halfway between Calgary and Banff.
The motorcyclist was out for a drive with her husband, who was riding his own bike and witnessed the collision around 3:45 p.m. Saturday.
"It stopped, the lady kept going," said Jamie Campbell of Foothills Regional EMS, describing what happened to the motorbike when it struck the bear. "She went up and over the handlebars and landed on the pavement, and then the bike skidded down the road."
The woman, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, was taken to hospital with injuries to her hands.
"There's lots of wildlife that gets hit, but not bears and motorcycles very often, so this is quite uncommon," Mr. Campbell said Saturday. "Deer versus cars -- lots. Occasionally deer versus motorcycle. I don't think I've done a bear versus motorcycle in my career yet."
Mr. Campbell said the woman is lucky to come away without more serious injuries. "A bear's pretty solid, so she's going to stop all of a sudden," he said.
Last Tuesday, a park warden shot a black bear in Lake Louise. The animal was acting aggressively, but DNA tests proved it was not the same bear that attacked a jogger a month ago.
A recent study by Parks Canada found grizzly bear deaths due to human activity were bringing the animal to dangerously low levels in Banff National Park.
The report, which looked at all known grizzly deaths in the mountain parks over an 18-year period, found that half of the animals killed were females. The largest killer was trains, with bears attracted to grain spilled along the tracks.
