Welcome back to Scary Bear Attacks!
Today’s episode takes us to the wild northern Rockies near Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The granite mountains rise over a mile high from the valley floor, which is around a mile
high itself.
The mountains here form a geographic barrier that runs from north to south and are socked
in by fog and snow for much of the year.
As you can imagine, the valleys between the mountains are lush and green crowded with
a ground level canopy of alder, berry bushes and wildflowers like yellow glacier lily and
fireweed decorate the floor.
Pine and fir trees compose the upper canopy in the forests and provide shade and shelter
from the wind.
The animals of the area are black and brown bears, elk, moose, deer, cougar and wolves.
Furbearers and common forest rodents like squirrels and chipmunks round out the typical
Rocky Mountain cast.
In the evening time of May 4th, 2021 esteemed associate professor of Environmental Management
and Sustainable Development at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business,
59 year old David Lertzman headed out for his second of two daily runs.
He decided that today he would run up Moss Trail just above town.
David taught graduate and undergraduate classes on leadership as well as sustainable development
with indegenous peoples.
He also directed wilderness retreat classes in the nearby area of Kananaskis.
David headed up the trail which has its rolling aspects then climbs to a beautiful view.
Passing by such scenery while running increases the hormones that relax your body and improve
mental peace.
It’s an excellent reason to exercise in such wild and natural surroundings.
As David trotted along the trail, unbeknownst to him, he was not alone.
A sow grizzly bear and her cub were near the trail he was jogging on and hiding just out
of David’s field of vision.
Springtime is a dangerous time to encounter and sow and a first cub especially, due to
the aggressively protective traits bears are known for, and this incident was about to
take a very scary turn.
As David jogged past the sow and her cub, her protective instincts kicked in and she
charged.
David had no idea she was closing in on him from behind and was admiring the view from
the top of the high escarpment he was climbing up.
David left at around 6 PM for his jog and by 10 PM his wife Sarah, decided to go out
and look for him herself.
She drove to the area and began walking up the trail.
As she approached the steep area of the trail she looked up the hill and over the sides
for evidence of where her husband could be.
She was expecting he might have injured himself and was unable to come back down the trail.
She was hoping to find him and help him back home to take care of him.
She found no evidence of what occurred.
After being notified the authorities gathered a search party and sent out a helicopter with
a spotlight and search equipment.
They combed the trails and valleys in the area for a short while before they located
him.
His body lay crumpled alongside the creek at the bottom of the ravine and was discovered
at 2 AM.
He was recovered and taken to the coroner's office for examination.
The coroner's report would reveal one of the most intriguing and perplexing bear attacks
in the recorded history of bear attacks.
After reviewing the injuries on David’s body, the authorities concluded that his 900
fall down the steep embankment was preceded by a bear attack.
Apparently the sow bear overtook David as he jogged up the trail on the steep slope
and shoved him, causing him to tumble down the cliff to his death.
They used track evidence on the trail as well as other physical evidence to discern this.
They also indicated that the attack was not predatory and that the cub was not involved.
Sarah had spent a few hours in the area and didn’t notice any bear sign or reason for
alarm while traveling her husband's route.
She actually stood at the exact location of the attack but saw nothing noteworthy or concerning
in the area.
Authorities were quick to point out that she could very easily have suffered the same,
or a similar fate as her husband.
Upon learning of David’s death, Sarah indicated that she could feel him transitioning into
the spiritual realm and that the bear did so as well.
She felt as if they were wrapped around each other, spiritually intertwined in this terrible
incident.
She pointed out that David died very near his 60th birthday, which seemed fitting to
her.
I am not sure what all the spiritual aspects of her sentiments mean, but its’ clear David
meant a lot to a lot of people.
This set off a three week period of game officers setting traps and baits out in the area to
try to locate the bear for examination and to understand why this tragic event occurred.
They placed culvert traps in a few places and watched for bear activity in the area.
After the three weeks passed, they concluded that the sow and cub had moved on and were
no longer in the area.
They removed the traps and scaled back the operation to find her.
They also reopened the trail system to the public deeming it safe for humans again.
The community mourned David’s passing at a memorial.
He was eulogized as a beautiful and unique marvelous human being and someone who changed
peoples lives each time he taught a class.
David lives on as the work he began by developing inroads with indigenous people groups in the
are is championed by University of Calgary’s indigenous strategy called ii’ taa’ poh’
to’ p which aims to help business heal the wounds of the past.
In the summer of 2021, there were three fatal bear attacks in the province of Alberta.
Two of the attacks were only 40 kilometers apart, begging the question, could the same
bear be responsible for more than one attack?
Is the cause for such a large increase in bear attacks and human fatalities due to human
presence in bear territory, or is there more to it?
Do you think the cub will apply what it saw during the attack and have a higher chance
of human attack?
Thank you for watching Scary Bear Attacks and a special thanks to our Patreons who support
us with monthly donations of their choosing: Cole Rodriguez, Cruz Control, Aurora, April
Donovan, Ryan Cerneke, Char, Chris Marlar, Wayne Washington, Fluffyfeet, Shyanne, Greg
Schaefer and Drone Adventures.
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Attacks branded apparel for yourself or your favorite teenager!
As a valued member of our human community please be careful out there, especially in
bear country!