A woman ended up with minor injuries after encountering a black bear while jogging near Lake Louise.
At around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the woman was running near the Great Divide day use area on the old Highway 1A when she encountered the animal.
"The bear acted aggressively, came towards her," says Park Warden Hal Morrison. "She kept backing away, making noise - which is a good idea."
What wasn't such a good idea was when the jogger tried to play dead. "She laid down on her belly and covered her head with her hands, the bear came around her sniffed licked her legs bit her in both legs and bit her in the back, at that time she realized her strategy wasn't working," says Morrison.
The woman then got back up and continued to back away from the bear for another 20 minutes.
Eventually the bear gave up and the woman managed to run another 6km back to Lake Louise Drive where she found a park warden. The warden helped her and she was eventually taken to the hospital in Banff.
She managed to run another 6km back to Lake Louise Drive where she found a park warden. The warden helped her and she was eventually taken to the hospital in Banff.
In the meantime, the area where the attack happened was evacuated, wardens sectioned it off and closed the area.
Three traps have been set in hopes of catching the bear and an investigation into the incident is still taking place.
Parks Canada says this incident serves as a good reminder that this is the time of year when there is a high probability of encounters between humans and bears.
They say if you do see a bear you should back away slowly from the animal, talk to it in a calm tone, group together with others if possible, have your bear spray ready to use and always leave the bear and exit out of the area.
Parks Canada is also asking people to report all bear sightings in the Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks to the Banff Dispatch at 403-762-1473.
