Grizzly bear that attacked school group on B.C.'s Central Coast has not been caught yet, officials say

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BCCOS Insp. Kevin Van Damme said eight conservation officers have been deployed to the site of the attack as attempts to capture the bear continue.

He stressed that people need to stay away from the area while the bear is still out there.

“I really need to stress how dangerous this situation is with this bear at large,” he said.

“We are doing our best to locate this bear and to capture it.”

Davidson also says she wants to recognize the teachers who “took great risk” to protect their students during the attack.

“They were well prepared, and they were the true heroes.”

In her own remarks, B.C. Environment Minister Tamara Davidson said four patients remain in hospital, and their families have asked for privacy at this time — and that no details about their condition be released.

BCCOS said as of 1:40 p.m. PT they haven't received reports of any deaths from Bella Coola.

At the Nuxalk Nation news conference, BCCOS Sgt. Jeff Tyre just said the bear hasn’t been located yet. He said conservation officers have set up several traps and put up cameras in the area.

The Nuxalk Nation held its own news conference ahead of the update from provincial officials.

Chief Samuel Schooner thanked first responders and community members for stepping up to help.

“We came together as a community in the last 24 hours and … I’m proud of the work that was done yesterday,” Schooner said.

Schooner said he couldn’t give any details about the condition of those injured, saying he wanted to protect their privacy, but said they are “in really good care.”

Bella Coola, on the traditional territories of the Nuxalk Nation, is an unincorporated community on B.C.’s Central Coast, located about 420 kilometres northwest of Vancouver as the crow flies.

It’s part of the Central Coast Regional District, which has a population of about 3,600, according to the 2021 census.

The area is known for its natural beauty, and the community promotes various guided wildlife tours.

As far as we know, the bear hasn’t been captured yet.

Conservation officers worked overnight to try to locate the grizzly, but were not able to find it, the BCCOS said.

Efforts to capture and assess the bear were set to resume today.

B.C. Students, teacher injured in Bella Coola grizzly attack

A grizzly bear attack involving students in Bella Coola on British Columbia’s Central Coast has left two people critically injured and two others seriously hurt, according to emergency officials.

The attack happened Thursday afternoon in Bella Coola on B.C.’s Central Coast.

B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) said it received a call about an “animal attack” on a trail at 1:46 p.m. PT.

A statement posted to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service's (BCCOS) Facebook page said those injured were three children and one adult.

BCCOS said the victims were part of a group of students and teachers who were having lunch along a trail when a grizzly emerged from the forest and attacked them.

“Multiple teachers physically intervened, using bear spray and a bear banger, to drive the bear away,” the statement said.

Hi everyone, I’m a senior writer with the national news desk.

We’re expecting to get more details this afternoon on Thursday’s grizzly bear attack that left two people critically injured and two others seriously hurt in B.C.

Tamara Davidson, minister of environment and parks, and Kevin Van Damme of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service are set to speak to reporters at around 2 p.m. PT.

We’ll be carrying a livestream of the news conference at the top of this page.

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