Black bear
Conservation Office inspector Tobe Sprado said the jogger had hiked up to the flagpole and was proceeding back down another trial along the hillside when a brown-coloured black bear began pursuing him.
Sprado said the bear chased the man for about 500 metres.
"While he was confronting the bear he fell down," Sprado said. "The bear made contact with him and swiped at him with his paws, [but] he was able to get up and beat the bear off with sticks and rocks," he said adding that the bear left the man alone after that.
The man then continued down the trial and went to the hospital where he was treated for minor scrapes he sustained from the bear attack, Sprado said.
The attack was possibly predatory in nature, and occurred at about 2:30 p.m.
"This bear was deliberately following and trying to make contact with [the jogger] for over a 15 minute period," said Sprado.
"It's obviously not normal behaviour in the sense of what most people deal [with] when they encounter bears," he said.
While at the hospital, the jogger reported the attack to the Conservation Office.
Sprado said a five-man predator attack response team attended the scene yesterday evening in hopes of finding the bear.
The jogger took the conservation officers to the site of the attack. They laid traps and searched for any signs a bear had been residing in the area.
"They didn't come up with much of anything, so they decided to do some predator calling last night," Sprado said, adding that those efforts continued into this morning to no avail.
After scouring the area for signs of the bear again this morning (May 26), the search was scaled back, said Sprado, noting that the traps are still in place.
He said a gate leading to the lookout has been locked and signage erected warning the public to stay out of the area.
Sprado said this predatory attack is concerning as it occurred within the city limits, and near a residential area and school.
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