One thing that anyone should be aware of when traveling in bear country is that coming between a mama and her cubs is a very, very dangerous thing. Especially if you're a bear.
A grandmother is being hailed as a hero for rescuing her four-year-old granddaughter from a backyard bear attack in B.C.'s West Kootenay region that left the two with little more than scratches.
Nelson-area resident Jane Tillotson was spending a quiet day in her garden with her two visiting granddaughters, aged four and six, when she heard the youngest one, Megan Chapple, screaming.
"And I turned to look and she was coming up the steps of the garden, and a big black bear was right behind her," Tillotson told CBC News on Wednesday, speaking for the first time about the Aug. 24 attack.
The black bear swiped the girl with its claw as she tried to escape up the steps, slicing the back of her calf.
"She started crying and fell down. And the bear was moving right over her."
Tillotson raced forward and plucked Megan from between the bear's paws, she said. As the grandmother backed away, the bear came after them and swiped them both, cutting the woman's thigh and her granddaughter's belly.
With Megan in one hand and the six-year-old granddaughter in the other, Tillotson stared the bear in its eyes and began screaming.
The bear backed down. A couple of inconsistencies in the story, incidentally. The little girl required "6 to 8" stitches to close her leg wound – that's a bit more than a scratch. But the weirdest part is the conservation officer who didn't think the attack was predatory. That would appear to be contrary to most established guidance I have seen on the subject and would be somewhat contradicted by the bear's apparent aggression in the first place, I think.
But Tillotson handled it right – especially since she did not have time to think about what to do.
I can’t believe the officer said it didn’t seem to be a predatory attack. Yikes. If that wasn’t predatory behavior, what is?!