CRANBROOK, B.C. -- A Cranbrook, B.C., man who was mauled by a grizzly bear is being treated for non-life threatening injuries in a Calgary hospital.
B.C. conservation officer Joe Caravetta said the bow hunter was looking for elk east of Cranbrook on Tuesday evening when he came across a sow grizzly with two cubs.
"At about 50 metres he stood up and made a noise to alert the bear that he was there and the sow at that point charged him, ran right towards him," Caravetta said.
"It knocked him down, it started clawing him, biting him and threw him around. He was able to get up, and with his bow in hand and his arrow in hand, fight off the grizzly or hit it."
The man has head and neck injuries, Caravetta said.
When the sow left the area with its cubs the man walked back to his vehicle and called for help.
Caravetta said conservation officers have closed the area and don't believe the grizzly was badly injured.
He said it appears the bear was protecting its cubs and there are no plans to kill the animal.
"These bears are common there and he (the hunter) just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"We do not feel that these bears are a public safety threat."
Caravetta, the inspector in charge of the Kootenay Boundary region, said there have been a lot of bear sightings in the area because of the poor berry crop this summer.
On Tuesday, the City of Cranbrook issued a statement warning the public to be cautious while using a pathway near a rail trail.
It said a mother bear with three cubs had been spotted in the area.
"The cinnamon-coloured sow and her family were seen quite close to where a lone black bear had been spotted in the same area over the past day or two," the release said.
"In both instances, the bears were seen foraging on the chokecherry bushes in the area."
