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The Slocan Valley Bear Smart Program has released details of a jogger’s near miss as a cautionary wildlife tale.
According to the program, a local resident was jogging without bear spray on a remote trail outside of Hills, a small community 30 kilometres southeast of Nakusp, when he encountered the aggressive black bear.
The bear charged the jogger from 100 metres away and forced the man up a small tree where he sat stuck for hours as the animal prowled below.
Thankfully, just before dark, local farmer Mat Phillips heard the jogger's cries for help.
Phillips, who also happens to be the head of the Hills Emergency Services Society, grabbed bear spray, a machete and his dog, and set off to rescue the man.
“I am so grateful to Mr. Phillips for rescuing me. I could have died. I will never go out in the bush again without bear spray,” Francis Levasseur, the lucky jogger, said.
Local bear biologist Wayne McCrory was called in to investigate the area.
"Since he found no moose or other animal carcass that the bear might have been feeding on, and no cubs in the area, the bear likely had pursued Francis as a predator," stated the release.
"Something so rare that a study showed that only 56 people had been killed by predaceous black bears in all of North America in over a century since 1900."
You can read the full story, which includes some wild details, below:
According to BC Conservation Service, bear activity has been ramping up across BC and officers are beginning to conduct bear attractant patrols.
"Sightings of bears – including a sow with 5 cubs in #Penticton – have been reported in several parts of the province, with bears spotted roaming throughout residential areas," said BCCOS on Facebook.
Please ensure you are doing your part to keep wildlife wild. For tips, please visit: https://wildsafebc.com/black-bear/
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