Two travellers made it back to safety on Sunday, July 14th after encountering a bear during a canoe trip. Yellowknife RCMP received a report from the International Emergency Response Coordination Center about two stranded travellers in the area of Hanbury Lake, approximately 480 km east of Yellowknife.
The man and the woman, originally from the US and on a canoe trip, saw their canoe being destroyed by a Grizzly bear. The couple safely managed to stay clear of the bear while waiting for rescue. They used a communication device that they had brought with them to send their coordinates to the EIRCC.
On Monday, July 15th, a helicopter with two Environment and Natural Resources Officers from the North Slave Region located the couple as well as the bear, which was still on site and continuing to threaten the campers.
Police say that the bear was successfully destroyed and that the travellers safely brought back to Yellowknife.
Staff Sergeant Yannick Hamel, Operations Manager for Yellowknife RCMP stated that the travellers were well prepared and had planned to bring a communication device with them on their trip, which definitely helped them with their misadventure.
“We can’t stress enough the importance to be prepared when venturing in the wilderness as anything can happen, like wildlife encounter.”
