A man was flown to hospital from a remote area in northern B.C. after being bitten by a grizzly bear Friday.
The BC Conservation Officer Service says a grizzly bear that scratched and bit a man on Friday will not be captured because the attack was “defensive.”
The service says in a social media post that the man’s injuries were non-life-threatening, and the attack happened in a “remote, fly-in location” about 110 kilometres west of Fort Nelson.
It says the man was part of a group that was working in the area and he was charged by the bear after noticing it with two cubs.
The service says he was bitten and scratched before the bear left, and other members of his group assisted him, and he was flown to a hospital for treatment.
The Conservation Officer Service says the victim was released and the rest of the group got out of the area safely.
Conservation Officers say they interviewed the man and a witness, deeming the attack was in a remote location and “defensive in nature,” and the service will therefore not try to capture or kill the animal.
According to publicly available statistics, calls to the BCCOS about grizzlies are rare. The service received 31 calls between 2011 and 2024, and four grizzly bears have been killed in that time period – none by conservation officers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025 with files from Lisa Steacy at CTV Vancouver