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© Revelstoke Bear AwareA black bear.
A B.C. environment minister spokesperson has confirmed there were two separate bear attacks in the Revelstoke area in the past few days.

Original story follows this update

A Revlstoke man walking between the Bell Pole yard and the Smokey Bear Campground on Sunday afternoon found himself in the one situation you really don't want to be in when it comes to bears.

The man, who didn't want his name used, said he was walking with his daughter's 13-year-old black lab Midnight when he came across a bear cub on the path.

He instantly turned around to retreat, but behind him was the mother bear, and he was caught in between the two.

His daughter, Heather Hill, tells the story from here:

"Mama came out of nowhere and jumped him and pushed him from the back into a puddle," Hill said. "She just hit him like a brick. We are assuming that he probably fell with him into the puddle."

The impact knocked the man out, and it's unknown how long he was out for. He came to and the bear was still there, so he got in a couple of punches as the bear loomed nearby. Perhaps he came to, and passed out again — they don't know.

"He remembers getting a couple good swings in, but then blacked out a bit," Hill said.

She said the incident happened so quickly that the victim wouldn't have been able to get a whistle or bear spray out if he had them.

In the meantime, Midnight sprung into action, barking and distracting the bear from the downed man, who was winded and suffering from the shock of the incident, so much so that he struggled to get to his feet, and had to crawl back towards his home near the Smokey Bear Campground.

The timeline is hazy here. The victim doesn't know how long the elderly dog held the bear at bay - minutes or up to half an hour.

Eventually he managed to crawl back to the Smokey Bear Campground, where he hailed help.

But in the end, the damage was limited to a major tackle by the bear. There was no biting or clawing.

"He's more than fine — he's just shook up," Hill said.

Midnight was also OK after the incident, but appeared exhausted after the ordeal. The dog couldn't jump into the back of the owner's pickup as usual.

"We had to pick him up and put him in the back of the truck," Hill said.

Hill said that conservation officers attended the scene on Monday, and brought three tracking dogs. But after a night of rain, they couldn't track the bear.

Hill said the family doesn't want harm to come to the bears, noting it was just a really unfortunate circumstance. However, she noted that there are families with young children living in the area near the campground and the former Great White North restaurant, and that safety is a concern.

Hill also said the conservation officers said they were heading to the Greeley area later that day to deal with the other bear attack incident.

Original story posted 10:38 a.m.

A B.C. environment minister spokesperson has confirmed there were two separate bear attacks in the Revelstoke area in the past few days.

The incidents have been making the rounds on social media in Revelstoke.

One incident involved a CP Rail worker who was attacked, a B.C. environment ministry spokesperson said.

Another unconfirmed incident was said to involve another person out walking west of Revelstoke. Unconfirmed reports say a man was attacked by a bear accompanied by two cubs and that the man fought off the bear with the help of his dog.

A B.C. environment ministry spokesperson confirmed there were two separate incidents and said that a Conservation Officer Service (COS) spokesperson would be available sometime Tuesday to talk about the incidents and the COS service response to them.

The severity of the incidents are not known. The actual proximity to the City of Revelstoke is also unknown.

We will update this story when more information becomes available.