Abstract
On May 10, a 47 year old fisherman was killed and eaten by a sole, 2 year 3 month old male bear (Ursus arctos). On the following day in the same area, two women (30 and 50 years old) were out collecting edible wild plants when they were attacked and wounded by the same bear that killed the fisherman. The bear had clearly eaten the fisherman's facial, head and throat muscles, right arm, right pectoral muscles and ribs. The facts that the bear had attacked, dragged the man to a comfortable place and then ate, suggests that the bear's attacking purpose was for food. The two women had come within a few meters of the bear and were attacked by the bear when trying to flee. Both women were injured in the head region. The first woman attacked was the 50 year old woman. She fought off the attack by repeatedly beating the bear with a stick. The bear then attacked the younger woman but was astonishingly driven off when the elder woman produced a large sound with her car horn. The bear had evidently attacked the women with the purpose of repelling them from his nearby food source ; the fisherman's corpse. In the past 30 years, the incidence of bear attacks on people, other than hunters, has been limited to either sole young bears or dam with offspring. The young bears were mostly two or three years old, however in some rare cases, the bear has been four years old. The causes of these attacks may be divided into three categories, i.e. to eat, to repel or to play. The incidents mentioned above fit within these categories. In the case of the fisherman, it may have been possible for him to have safely escaped if he had repelled the attack with a hatchet that may be carried legally.
