Black bear kills woman in Quebec

Woodsman

Woodsman

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Don't know if anybody posted this yet. For those who think black bears are not much to be concerned about when being outdoors fishing and/or camping:

Search is on for black bear that killed 70-year-old woman
Last Updated: Monday, June 2, 2008 | 11:38 AM ET Comments38Recommend16CBC News
Quebec conservation officers are on the hunt for a bear that killed a 70-year-old woman in Abitibi on the weekend.

Provincial police say Alexandre Lavoie went looking for his wife Cécile on Friday evening when she didn't return from a solo trip to a fishing hole along the Theo River near La Sarre, about 575 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

Police spokesman Gregory Gomez del Prado said Lavoie, 73, found his wife's body and spotted a bear nearby.

He called police, but when officers located the bear, it seemed aggressive, and night had already fallen, making it hard to see.

Police located Lavoie's body Saturday when they returned to the area with conservation officers. Lavoie was carrying bear spray when she went fishing, del Prado said.

Conservation officers aren't sure whether the bear was male or female, or whether there were cubs nearby. It's unusual for black bears to show aggression towards humans except in certain circumstances, and Lavoie's death "is not a common attack," del Prado said.

The mother of five and grandmother of 11 had extensive hunting and fishing experience in the area.

Authorities are tracking the bear and set traps, hoping to find the animal and get answers about Lavoie's death.

Bear-mauling deaths are rare in Quebec, with four people killed in the last 25 years, according to provincial wildlife officials.

The last fatal black bear attack was in Val d'Or, in 2003, another Abitibi town.
 
P12 said:
If she could legally carry a sidearm she would still be alive.
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Bull####! You do not know that. Don Peters that was killed in Alberta, just last year, had a gun and lots of other people over the years have been killed by bears even though they were armed, way too many to list.
 
If she could legally carry a sidearm she would still be alive.
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:slap: :stfun00b:

Obviously were going to get this thread started all over again, I pasted the WHOLE ORIGINAL STORY, you know were she didnt even get her bear spray off her belt, but I am sure she would have had better luck with a sidearm :rolleyes:



QUEBEC: HUSBAND CHASED AFTER 'AGGRESSIVE' ANIMAL

Black bear attacks and kills grandmother, 70, on fishing trip
KATE HAMMER

June 2, 2008

The husband of a 70-year-old grandmother who was killed by a bear in northern Quebec fearlessly chased the wild animal off his wife's battered body, according to family members.

Conservation experts set traps after Friday evening's attack, but according to police, as of last night, the bear was still at large in the wilds of northern Quebec.

Cecile Lavoie and Alexandre Lavoie, 73, were in remote country nearly 600 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, where the retirees often spent the weekend fishing or hunting deer.

According to her daughter, Ms. Lavoie felt at home in the woods and on the banks of the Theo River, where the bear attacked.

As she scouted a fishing hole for walleye, Ms. Lavoie became separated from her husband. Barely 10 minutes later, Mr. Lavoie felt something was amiss and went searching for his wife of 51 years. Metres away he came upon the nightmarish scene of her body being dragged into the forest by a bear.
Mr. Lavoie chased the predator for nearly 200 metres and managed very briefly to scare it away from his wife. He tried but was unable to carry her limp and bleeding body back through the dense spring foliage.

He left her and went for help. When he arrived with police, the bear had returned and was combative.

"The bear was still around and the bear was aggressive," said Sergeant Gregory Gomez del Prado, a spokesman for the Quebec provincial police. "It was dark so it was hard to find the woman's body."

The bear was so aggressive, police were forced to delay attempts to retrieve Ms. Lavoie's remains until early Saturday morning, after it retreated into the deep woods north of the small community of La Sarre.

Yesterday Ms. Lavoie's family gathered at her Beaucanton home. Mr. Lavoie, the retired owner of a logging machinery business his wife helped him build, is still in shock according to his daughter, Christine Lavoie.

"She was an angel," Christine said yesterday in a telephone interview. "Fishing and hunting were her favourite activities, she was in her paradise."

According to the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Fauna website, black bears are the species most commonly found in Quebec. This species rarely attacks humans and only four people have been killed by black bears in that province over the past 25 years.

In 1991, a black bear killed a Toronto couple in Algonquin Park, baffling wildlife experts as it left the campers' food stores untouched.

In 2001, a high-school student was attacked and partly eaten by a black bear 25 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

In 2007, a Calgary woman, who was cycling on a trail near a British Columbia resort, was stalked and killed by a black bear.

Attacks sometimes occur in the spring when bears awake from hibernation and are hungry. According to wildlife experts, a long winter and large amounts of snow meant this year's hibernation season stretched a few weeks longer than usual.

In the event that one is approached by a black bear, the ministry website recommends moving slowly and avoiding eye contact in order to evade being identified as prey by the bear. Climbing a tree can be an effective way to escape attack.

According to her family, the attack on Ms. Lavoie happened so quickly she didn't even have time to scream, let alone reach for the bear spray she carried with her. As accomplished hunters and campers who were born and raised in northern Canada, the Lavoies were well-versed in the recommended tools for avoiding and dealing with bear attacks.

It remains unclear why the bear attacked Ms. Lavoie.

In addition to her husband, she leaves behind five children and 11 grandchildren
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I don't think that a sidearm would have helped her any more then her bear spray. Having said that it is just another example of unusual things happening, making it a compelling example of why wilderness sidearm carry should be allowed all over Canada. Even if it wouldn't have helped poor Mrs. Lavoie it might help someone else in yet another unusual situation.
 
My appologies, I didn't see the original story, just the one on top. The whole story puts it more into perspective.
 
Woman killed by bear attack in Quebec

There may have only been four PROVEN mortalities in the past 25 years, but at least three in the past 5 or 6 years: a lady biathelon; a hunter and now this. I'm sorry, but I don't buy into these "official" reports. There are many others that go unreported. I deeply regret what has happened to this dear lady and her family and extend my deepest sympathy.
 
That's pretty rought. Just a couple of hours east of here. The blackies are a problem around here.

A few weeks ago The local police wounded an agressive bear in the city (Timmins), then the MNR came by, tranquilized it and after checking its wounds and deciding that they were "minor" they released it in the wild :eek::runaway:

This week There's a 250-300 pound bears in around my parents neighbourhood playing nasty tricks every night or so. Visited their garage and flipped over the deep freeze, took all the bird feeders and brought them back to the tree line. Funny he didnt' show up the other night while I waiting for him......
 
He left her and went for help. When he arrived with police, the bear had returned and was combative.

"The bear was still around and the bear was aggressive," said Sergeant Gregory Gomez del Prado, a spokesman for the Quebec provincial police. "It was dark so it was hard to find the woman's body."

The bear was so aggressive, police were forced to delay attempts to retrieve Ms. Lavoie's remains until early Saturday morning, after it retreated into the deep woods north of the small community of La Sarre.

So why TF didn't they shoot the thing :confused:
Are quebec LEO not issued guns?
 
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