A black bear attacked a hiker in along the Skyview trail of the Larch Hills trail system on Friday morning. Conservation officers are posting signs warning people of the aggressive animal.
Gary Wilkinson is warning fellow hikers to stay out of the South Loop of the Larch Hills trail system after the incident which took place at approximately 8 a.m. this (Friday) morning.
"Stay off Skyview and the South Loop for sure," he said "This is a very aggressive male bear. He was not afraid, he even stalked me."
As is his usual custom, Wilkinson was taking a morning walk with Neara, his yellow Labrador retriever, when he noticed a black bear. Bears are common in the area and usually do not bother people, so Wilkinson continued on his way.
But as Neara snuffled through the bush, suddenly the bear popped out of the bushes right beside him.
"He was right there, it was obvious he had followed me," said the still shaken man.
"My dog saw the bear and put the run on him, the bear grabbed a hold of her and pinned her down. She yelped but was able to get out of the hold and took off. That's when the bear came towards me."
Wilkinson frantically called his home on his cell phone, but the bear was so close, he says much of the call was just sounds of him screaming at the bear to get away.
"It was not backing down, and he was right there," he said, "So I clumped him over the snout with my walking stick."
The bear stood still for a moment, but made no indications it was going to leave, so Wilkinson hit him again.
"I broke my walking stick right over his snout," he says.
Finally the bear backed away into the bush.
Wilkinson continued to call his wife, but as he attempted to walk to the parking lot, he was going in and out of cell range.
"Oh, was my adrenalin going. I was so shaken. When I was on Devil's Lunge I saw a big black stump and I thought it was the bear. My heart stopped because I knew my stick was broken. I nearly died right there until I realized what it really was."
By the time he arrived at his parked truck, a contingent of RCMP officers were on scene and BC Conservation officers were arriving.
Conservation officers interviewed Wilkinson this (Friday) morning and took photos of the broken walking stick with bear hairs caught in the wood.
The police rode an ATV through the area, but did not see any signs of the animal. Conservation officers have since posted signs warning people of the aggressive animal.
Wilkinson says conservation officers had no plans to try and trap the bear, as there are many bears in the area and no guarantee a trap would capture the right animal.
"My dog's a little roughed up, but we're OK, thankfully. The best thing to do is stay away from the area. I don't want to see anyone hurt."
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