List of fatal bear attacks in North America

This is a list of known fatal, bear attacks that occurred in North America by decade in reverse chronological order. Three species of bear, the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), the American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) and the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) are identified in the article. The Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), the Kodiak Bear and the Mexican Brown Bear are treated as subspecies of the Brown Bear. There were about 52 recorded deaths due to black bears between 1900 and 2003 and about 50 deaths due to brown bears and about 5 due to polar bears in the same period. The most recent data is the most reliable and complete, but does not necessarily include all of the fatal attacks that have occurred in North America. Prior to recent decades bear attacks were not well documented, particularly those which took place in isolated regions. As a result there were more attacks and fatalities than have been recorded as shown here, particularly in Canada and Alaska.

2005 was a notably bad year for fatal bear attacks in Canada with 5 in span of only a few months, which generated increased media attention on the subject and caused wildlife conservation officials to issue public warnings in certain areas known to have large bear populations in close proximity to humans.

2000s

Name, age, gender	Date	Species	Location, comments
Elora Petrasek, 6, female	April 13, 2006	Black	She was killed and her mother and 2 year-old brother seriously injured in an attack in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.
Arthur Louie, 60, male	September 20, 2005	Brown	Killed by a female while he was walking back to his mining camp after his car had a flat tire at Bowron River, British Columbia.
Jacqueline Perry, 30, female	September 6, 2005	Black	Killed in a predatory attack at the Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park, north of Chapleau, Ontario, Canada. Her husband was seriously injured in the attack.
69, male	August 26, 2005	Black	Fatally mauled while picking plums at Selkirk, north of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Rich Huffman, 61, male; Kathy Huffman, 58, female	June 23, 2005	Brown	Killed in their tent at a campsite along the Hulahula river 12 miles upriver from Kaktovik in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Isabelle Dube, 35, female	June 5, 2005	Brown	Killed while jogging with 2 friends on the Bench Trail in Canmore, Alberta
Merlyn Carter, 71, male	2005	Black	Found dead in the main cabin of his fishing camp located 300 km Northeast of Ft. Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Timothy Treadwell, 46, male ; Amie Huguenard, 37, female	October 2003	Brown	Found by their pilot, dead and partially consumed at Katmai National Park, Alaska on October 6, 2003. Treadwell was world-famous for his books and documentaries on living with wild bears in Alaska. State Troopers investigating the incident recovered an audiotape of the attack.
Forestry worker	April 17, 2003	Black	Stalked, killed and partially consumed by a large, black bear near Waswanipi, a village in northern Quebec.
male citizen of Alberta, Canada	September 2002	Black	Attacked and killed at a remote oil rigging site in northeastern British Columbia.
male hunter	September 2002	Black	Attacked and killed in his campsite in Gaspé region of northern Quebec.
Ester Schwimmer, 5 months, female	August 2002	Black	Bear grabs and kills 5 month old infant from stroller on the porch of home in Fallsburg, New York
Adelia Maestras Trujillo, 93, female	August 2001	Black	Bear breaks into a house in New Mexico and is confronted by the elderly owner who dies during the attack.
Kyle Harry, 18, male	June 3, 2001	Black	Attacked and killed at a rural campsite 25 km. east of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, Canada.
George Tullos, 41, male	July 14, 2000	Brown	His partially consumed body was found at Run Amuk campground in Hyder, Alaska.
Mary-Beth Miller, 24, female	July 2000	Black	Attacked and killed while on a training run in Quebec, Canada.
Glena Ann Bradley, female	May 2000	Black	Killed and partially consumed by a 112 pound female and her 40 pound yearling. The attack occurred while she was walking on a trail near Smokey Mountains Campground near Gatlinburg, Tennessee

1990s

Name, age, gender	Date	Species	Location, Comments
Ned Rasmussen, male	November 1999	Brown	Found dead 2 days after he disappeared on a deer hunting trip on Uganik Island, Alaska.
Ken Cates, 53, male	May 25, 1999	Brown	Killed while hiking on the Funny River Trail near Soldotna, Alaska. Investigators found bear blood at the scene, and determined that Cates fired two shots with his rifle scoring at least one hit. The bear was never found.
Craig Dahl, 26, male	May 17, 1998	Brown	Last seen alive hiking in the Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park. His partially consumed remains were found three days later.
Audelio Luis Cortes, 40, male	February 8, 1998	Brown	Killed by a single head bite while working with a seismic crew in the Swanson River oil field near Kenai, Alaska
Marcie Trent, 77, female; and her son, Larry Waldron, 45	July 1, 1995	Brown	Killed by a bear defending a moose carcass on the McHugh Creek Trail near Anchorage, Alaska.
Colin McClelland, 24, male	August 10, 1993	Black	Killed as a result of a crushed skull after a 240 pound male Black bear tore open the door to his trailer and attacked at WAGH Mountain, Colorado. The bear was later destroyed by game wardens.
John Petranyi, male	October 3, 1992	Brown	Attacked and killed by a female with 2 cubs on the Loop Trail, Upper McDonald Valley, Glacier National Park.
Female	July 8, 1992	Unknown	Killed west of Glennallen, Alaska.
Male geologist	June 14, 1992	Black	Attacked and killed on field assignment near Cochrane, Ontario.
Female and Male camper	October 11, 1991	Black	Opeongo Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Male camper	May 26, 1991	Unknown	Martin River Campground, Alberta, Canada

1980s

Name, age, gender	Date	Species	Location, Comments
Gary Goeden, male	found September 1, 1987; missing since July 28, 1987	Brown	His partially consumed remains were found at Natahki Lake, Many Glacier Valley, Glacier National Park.
Charles Gibbs, 40, male	April 25, 1987	Brown	He was last seen alive following and photographing a female with cubs at Elk Mountain in Glacier National Park. Investigators recovered film of the female approaching in attack mode at 50 yards.
Photographer	October 1986	Brown	Approached an adult female too closely in Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park.
Backpacker	July 1984	Brown	Killed at a backcountry campsite at the southern end of White Lake in Yellowstone National Park.
Camper	June 1983	Brown	Killed at the Rainbow Point campground in the Gallatin National Forest just Northwest of Yellowstone National Park.
Laurence Gordon, male	September 30, 1980	Brown	Attacked and killed at the Elizabeth Lake campsite in the Belly River valley, Glacier National Park.
Male and Female	August 17, 1980	Unknown	Killed near Zama, Alberta, Canada
Jane Ammerman, female; Kim Eberly, male	July 24, 1980	Brown	Attacked and killed at Divide Creek in the St. Mary valley, Glacier National Park.
Unknown	July 18, 1980	Unknown	Killed at Leo Creek, British Columbia, Canada

1970s

Name, age, gender	Date	Species	Location, Comments
Unknown, male	June 19, 1978	Black	Porcupine Mountains State Park, Michigan
Three Male Youths	May 13, 1978	Black	Radiant Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Mary Pat Mahoney, 22, female	September 23, 1976	Brown	She was dragged from a tent and killed at Many Glacier campground in Glacier National Park.
Unknown, male	June 1972	Brown	Killed by a bear that was feeding on food that was left out at Yellowstone National Park.

1960s

Name, age, gender	Date	Species	Location, Comments
Male	October 1, 1968	Black	Killed near Atikokan, Ontario, Canada.
Julie Helgeson, 19, female	August 13, 1967	Brown	Killed at Granite Park campsite in Glacier National Park by a female bear. Helgeson's companion, Roy Ducat, was severely mauled during the attack.
Michelle Koons, 19, female	August 13, 1967	Brown	Killed at Trout Lake campsite in Glacier National Park by a female bear. Although Helgeson and Koons were the same age and killed on the same night, these were separate attacks by different bears approximately 10 miles apart.

1940s

Name, age, gender	Date	Species	Location, Comments
Unknown	August 1942	Species undetermined	Killed at Old Faithful campground in Yellowstone National Park.

1910s

Name, age, gender	Date	Species	Location, Comments
Unknown male	1916	Brown	Killed at a roadside camp in Yellowstone National Park

References

• Southeastern Outdoors, Fatal Black Bear Attacks [4] last accessed April 21, 2006
• Southeastern Outdoors, Fatal Brown Bear Attacks [5] last accessed April 22, 2006
• Glacier National Park Press Kit, Grizzly Bear Related Fatalities [6] last accessed April 22, 2006
• Bearman's Yellowstone Outdoor Adventures, Bear Caused Human Injuries and Deaths in Yellowstone National Park [7] last accessed April 23, 2006