A grizzly bear attacked and killed two people in Banff National Park west of Sundre, Alta., on Friday night, Parks Canada says.
The people who died were common-law partners, according to a family member of one of the deceased whose name CBC News is choosing to keep confidential until all members of the family have been notified. The couple’s dog, who was with them at the time, was also killed.
“They were long-term partners who loved the outdoors and were inseparable,” read a statement from the family member.
“They lived for being in the backcountry and were two of the most cautious people I know. They knew bear protocol and followed it to a tee.”
Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch at about 8 p.m. on Friday indicating a bear attack
How does this work? Or is it just another way of saying that someone used a phone with GPS enabled?
Many personal trackers and hiking devices have an SOS button that sends out your position in case of emergency.
I have a Garmin InReach that uses GPS and Iridium satellites to relay text messages. Popular devices for outdoor activities.
I have one. You can create a pre-text that includes GPS coordinates and send it with a couple of clicks, you can type out a text message but it takes a while, or there’s a switch on the side that’s SOS. Flip it anywhere in the world, and Garmin/Iridium is going to contact emergency services wherever the signal is coming from.
Probably a Globalstar SPOT alert.
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It says further down the article that it was a garmin inreach, Which is a GPS device that can send short messages over the iridium satellite network.
I have no idea and was wondering the same thing.
Some bears will have a GPS tracker on them. Maybe they got a distress call and colocated out with a bear that had a GPS locator?
I guess you could have a dedicated “press if you see a bear” device but I’ve never heard of it (which doesn’t mean much, really).
It was likely a handheld gps device for hiking, they usually have SOS buttons that will alert authorities and send location data
Some form of EPIRB; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_position-indicating_radiobeacon
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch at about 8 p.m. on Friday indicating a bear attack, said Natalie Fay, external relations manager for the Banff field unit.
While in the area, the response team encountered a grizzly bear displaying aggressive behaviour, Fay said, leading Parks Canada staff to destroy the animal on-site for public safety.
“This is a tragic incident and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” the statement read.
The fact that the bear was still in the area when the Parks Canada response team arrived on the scene is “highly unusual”, said Titchener, especially if the attack was a defensive one.
She advised that travelling in groups, making noise to let animals know you’re in the area and carrying bear spray, are all effective ways to prevent attacks from happening.
If people see any signs of bears while they are on a trail, including scat, diggings, claw marks or tracks, or if they see an animal carcass or birds circling, they should leave the area immediately, said Titchener.
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