Teachers were 'heroes' in protecting students from grizzly attack on B.C.'s Central Coast, officials say

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With that, we’re concluding our live coverage for today.

For those just finding this page now, here’s what we learned from today’s news conferences about Thursday’s bear attack:

We'll have more coverage on cbc.ca/bc.

Grizzlies are the animal most likely to attack humans in B.C., according to the B.C. Wildlife Federation.

The non-profit says the province is home to 15,000 of the country’s 26,000 grizzly bears.

Since 2015, 351 grizzlies have been destroyed in total, according to data from BCCOS.

More than 50 bears have been relocated in the last decade and around 190 bears were hazed — meaning “non-lethal methods” were used to deter the bears from an area or discourage them from undesirable activity.

The B.C. Wildlife Federation says there has been an increase in grizzly bear attacks in recent years and blames the end of the grizzly hunt in the province in 2017.

“With no hunting pressure, grizzlies and humans will increasingly occupy the same spaces with inevitable consequences,” said Jesse Zeman, the non-profit’s executive director, in a news release.

The B.C. Government said in 2017 that the ban was intended to protect one of the province’s “most iconic species.”

“We also want to promote the healthy grizzly bear viewing economy in B.C. And give everyone the tremendous opportunity to see these incredible animals in their natural habitat,” said George Heyman, then environment minister, at the time.

A government release said First Nations would still be able to harvest grizzly bears pursuant to Aboriginal rights for food, social, or ceremonial purposes, or treaty rights.

At an unrelated news conference earlier today, B.C. Premier David Eby added his praise for the teachers.

“I want to thank the teachers for their heroism,” Eby said, describing “their willingness to confront this vicious animal.”

He said conservation officers are working hard to find the bear and added the government will carefully listen to advice from BCCOS on how to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The premier also said he’s hoping for a quick recovery for all those affected.

To conclude the news conference, officials across the board offered their condolences to the families of the people who were hurt.

“Our thoughts are really with the family, with the victims, and we hope there's a speedy recovery for all involved,” Van Damme said.

Van Damme said he hasn’t seen a grizzly bear attack a group of people in this way in his 24 years of experience.

“This is extremely rare,” he said. €œWe are trying to determine the behaviour and why the bear acted in the way it did.

“Thankfully, the teachers were prepared. They did everything they needed to do and they avoided serious injuries to others.”

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.

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