Bicyclist survives bear attack in Banff

BANFF, Alberta – A black bear chased, caught and mauled a bicycle rider on a mountain trail in Canada’s oldest and most popular national park. The animal was shot and killed after it failed to leave the area, a warden said.

The biker, Greg Flaaten, 41, a Web administrator for the town of Banff, was being treated for severe arm injuries at Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, and reconstructive surgery on the biceps and triceps area was scheduled Monday.

Authorities initially feared Flaaten might lose his arm, but that concern was eased when a key artery was found to be intact, maintaining circulation to the lower part of the arm, said Ian Syme, chief warden for Banff National Park.

A bear evidently ran down and attacked Flaaten on Friday evening along the heavily wooded Hoodoos-Bow River Trail through the park east of Banff, Syme said.

“We heard he had been chased on the bicycle for a while,” Syme said.

“We’re not sure how far that was. Certainly at the time when you are chased like that, things can seem to be a lot longer than they might be, but apparently he was chased.”

Flaaten was found about 8 p.m. after two acquaintances, Robert Earl and Robin Borstmayer, saw his bike and a broken helmet near the trail, then heard him calling for help.

They spotted Flaaten nearby, along with dragging marks and signs of a struggle.

Confronted by the bear as it continued pacing between them and Flaaten, Earl and Borstmayer pedaled to a nearby campground and called a warden, who rushed to the site along with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.

The bear, still pacing near Flaaten, was shot dead by the warden.

Syme said predatory attacks by bears are rare, adding that 95 percent of the time, the bear runs away. He said attacks that do occur almost always are in self-defense or a case of a sow defending her cubs.

Syme estimated the bear that was shot weighed only about 140 pounds, much lighter than a normal, healthy bear.