Parks Canada said a grizzly bear attacked and killed two people in Banff National Park west of Sundre, AB, on Friday. .“Weather conditions at the time did not allow for helicopter use, and the response team travelled through the night to the location by the ground,” said Parks Canada Banff external relations manager Natalie Fay in a Sunday statement provided to The Canadian Press. .“The response team arrived on-site at 1 a.m. and discovered two deceased individuals.”.Fay said Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer Valley west of Sundre at about 8 p.m. on Friday, indicating a bear attack. She added a team trained in wildlife attacks was mobilized, but weather hindered its response time. .While in the area, she said the response team encountered a grizzly bear displaying aggressive behaviour, leading to staff putting down the animal for public safety. .RCMP arrived at 5 a.m. to transport the victims to Sundre. .A closure is in place around the attack area — including the Red Deer and Panther valleys, from Snow Creek Summit east to Banff National Park’s boundary and north to Shale Pass — until further notice as a safety precaution. .“This is a tragic incident and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims,” said Fay. .Two large grizzly bears followed 13 hikers down a trail in Banff National Park for 20 minutes on September 14, with one of them making a few quick runs at the group. .READ MORE: Two grizzlies follow hikers down trail in Banff National Park.“It's not every day that you think you're actually going to be that close to two grizzly bears,” said Discover Banff Tours hiking guide Phoebe Nicholson. .“A pretty intense, but also pretty amazing experience, to see animals like that in the wild, just in their natural habitat, going for a walk with us.”
