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The search for three grizzly bears believed to be involved in an attack on students and teachers in Bella Coola continues on Monday.
The Conservation Officer Service said it has multiple teams on the ground and that they have set up traps and snares. An RCMP aircraft with thermal imaging cameras is also assisting in the search.
Four people, including children, were hospitalized Thursday after the bear attacked students and teachers from the Nuxwalk First Nation while they were on a school trip near Acwalcta School, east of the remote community.
Seven others were treated on scene for injuries.
It is believed that the grizzly bears are a mother and her cubs, according to the Conservation Officer Service.
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The teachers are being praised for their actions to protect the students during the attack, including one who punched and kicked one of the bears.
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So far, there are no signs of the animals, however.
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“We are bringing in more resources — those resources look like a wildlife vet that’s coming down to assist and some biologists to assist as well,” Sgt. Jeff Tyre with the Conservation Officer Service said.
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“We’re bringing more officers in so that we can spread our officers out so that we don’t get fatigued and too tired to do the job.”
Conservation officers did capture a grizzly bear on Monday morning, but after assessing the bear, they concluded that it was not involved in the attack.
As a result, the bear will be fitted with a GPS collar and relocated in coordination with wildlife biologists and the provincial wildlife veterinarian with the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
Tyre added that there is no time limit to the search effort as long as the bears are out there.
To report information or bear sightings in Bella Coola, contact the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the victims and their families.
— With files from Global News’ Moosa Imran
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