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A popular trail in Jasper National Park, in western Alberta, is temporarily closed after a hiker-grizzly bear encounter.
Parks Canada said in a social media post Thursday that hikers on the Opal Hills trail, an eight-kilometre trek near Jasper’s Maligne Lake, suffered minor injuries after startling a female grizzly bear with her cubs at a close distance.
The agency said the park-goers “sustained minor injuries as the bear defended her space and family.
“More serious injury was likely avoided because the visitors had educated themselves, had bear spray ready and knew how to use it,” Parks Canada said.
Parks Canada did not say when the encounter happened, but the trail and surrounding area was announced as temporarily closed in a Monday bulletin.
Opal Hills Loop trail and the area surrounding it have been temporarily closed as of Monday. (Parks Canada)
People who violate the closure could be charged up to $25,000 under the Canada National Parks Act, the bulletin said.
Parks Canada emphasized the necessity of carrying easily accessible bear spray and knowing how to discharge it, if needed.
“Here in Jasper you’re not always in backcountry, but you’re always in bear country,” Parks Canada wrote in its Thursday post.