Conservation officers in British Columbia are warning hikers after a man sustained injuries in a grizzly bear attack in the province’s Shuswap region. Officers were called after the man, who was hiking with his dog along the Queest Mountain Forest Service Road, near Sicamous, encountered the bear shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday. “The bear chased the dog and subsequently contacted the man,” the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said in a statement. “The man received medical attention for non-life-threatening injuries.” An investigation determined the attack was defensive in nature, the agency said. As a result, “no efforts to capture or locate the bear” were undertaken. However, signs warning of the grizzly have been placed around the area of the attack. The conservation service says officers will continue to monitor bear activity in the area and respond if necessary to protect the public. Bears grapple with drought Backcountry users are encouraged to follow wildlife safety precautions, including leashing pets and carrying bear spray. “Bears are dealing with drought conditions and are active as they need to find berries and food,” the conservation officer service said. In a separate statement Friday, the agency warned that bears become increasingly active in the autumn as they try to store enough fat to sustain them through winter hibernation. “Bears may be travelling further and looking in novel places for sustenance, and this means it is more important than ever to not give bears a reason to linger in communities,” the statement said. Several bear attacks have been reported to conservation officers in B.C. in recent months, including four black bear attacks in the Metro Vancouver region in August. Outside of the Lower Mainland, recent encounters with grizzly bears have been reported in the Sea to Sky region and the Kootenays, where three young grizzlies were destroyed last month due to their habituation to humans.
