List of fatal bear attacks in North America
Name , age , gender Date Type Location Description
Kelly Ann Walz , 37 , female October 4 , 2009 Captive Ross Township , Pennsylvania Walz , whose husband had an expired license to keep exotic animals , was attacked while cleaning her pet bear 's cage . She tried to distract the bear by throwing dog food to the opposite end of the cage . A neighbor shot and killed the bear
Donna Munson , 74 , female August 6 , 2009 Wild Ouray , Colorado Munson had been feeding bears for a decade , and was repeatedly warned by wildlife officials . After a bear was injured in a fight with an older and bigger bear , Munson left food out to help the injured bear . The older bear came back to Munson 's property , forced its way past a wire fence , and mauled Munson . Later , wildlife officials killed two bears on Munson 's property . One of the bears had a necropsy which revealed evidence that it consumed Munson
Cécile Lavoie , 70 , female May 30 , 2008 Wild near La Sarre , Quebec After Lavoie did not return to her cabin following a solo fishing outing , her husband went looking for her . He found a bear dragging her body into the woods
Robin Kochorek , 31 , female July 20 , 2007 Wild Panorama Mountain Resort , British Columbia Kochorek was reported missing after mountain biking . A black bear was found near her corpse the morning after her disappearance . The bear was shot on sight by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police ( RCMP )
Samuel Evan Ives , 11 , male June 17 , 2007 Wild Uinta National Forest , Utah Ives was grabbed from a family tent in American Fork Canyon , and mauled . State wildlife officials killed the bear , which had entered the campsite the night before . Ives ' family sued the U.S. Forest Service because there was no warning about the bear 's presence . A judge awarded the family $ 1.95 million . It was the first known fatal black bear attack in Utah
Elora Petrasek , 6 , female April 13 , 2006 Wild Cherokee National Forest , Tennessee A bear attacked the family at a waterfall near a campground . Petrasek 's mother and brother were also injured . The bear was trapped and killed , and an unrelated bear was mistakenly killed
Jacqueline Perry , 30 , female September 6 , 2005 Wild Missinaibi Lake Provincial Park , Ontario Perry was killed in an attack at a remote campsite . Her husband was seriously injured trying to protect her with a Swiss Army knife , and later was given a Star of Courage award from Governor General Michaëlle Jean . Ministry of Natural Resources staff shot and killed the bear near the area where the fatal attack occurred
Harvey Robinson , 69 , male August 26 , 2005 Wild Selkirk , Manitoba Robinson was fatally mauled while picking plums north of Winnipeg , Manitoba . Robinson 's family were investigating the area with an RCMP officer later that day , and were also attacked . The officer shot and killed the bear
Merlyn Carter , 71 , male June 14 , 2005 Wild Nonacho Lake , Northwest Territories Carter was found dead behind the main cabin of his fishing camp . Carter 's son came to the cabin the day after the attack , and shot and killed the bear
Maurice Malenfant , 77 , male September 29 , 2002 Wild Saint-Zénon-du-Lac-Humqui , Quebec Malenfant was attacked in his campsite in the Gaspé region of Quebec
Christopher Bayduza , 31 , male September 1 , 2002 Wild near Fort Nelson , British Columbia After going for a walk behind a trailer , Bayduza was attacked at a remote oil rigging site in northeastern British Columbia
Ester Schwimmer , 5 months , female August 19 , 2002 Wild Fallsburg , New York A bear knocked Schwimmer from her stroller , which was near the porch of her family 's vacation home . The bear carried the infant in its mouth to the woods . Schwimmer died of neck and head injuries
Adelia Maestras Trujillo , 93 , female August 18 , 2001 Wild Mora , New Mexico A bear broke through a glass pane to gain entry into Trujillo 's house and killed her . Trujillo 's body was found in her kitchen . The bear was shot 0.5 miles ( 0.80 km ) from the house
Kyle Harry , 18 , male June 3 , 2001 Wild near Yellowknife , Northwest Territories Harry was attacked while with a group at a rural campsite 25 kilometres ( 16 mi ) east of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories , Canada
Mary Beth Miller , 24 , female July 2 , 2000 Wild near Valcartier , Quebec Miller was attacked while on a biathlon training run in a wooded area on a military base . The bear was trapped and killed four days later
Glenda Ann Bradley , 50 , female May 21 , 2000 Wild Great Smoky Mountains National Park , Tennessee Bradley was attacked and partially consumed by a mother bear and a cub , 1.5 miles ( 2.4 km ) upstream from Elkmont , Tennessee . It was the first fatal bear attack in a southeastern U.S. National Park . While hovering over Bradley 's corpse , the bears were shot and killed by park rangers
2000s -- Black bear
Fatal bear attacks in North America have occurred in a variety of settings. There have been several in the bears' wilderness habitats involving hikers, hunters, and campers. Brown bear incidents have occurred in their native range spanning Alaska, Northern and Western Canada, and portions of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The locations of black bear wilderness fatal attacks reflect their wider range: all Canadian Provinces except the Atlantic Provinces and several major mountainous areas in the United States. Bears held captive by animal trainers, in zoos, carnivals, or kept as pets have been responsible for several attacks. There have also been unusual cases in which a person entered a bear's cage and was then mauled. Bear attacks are rare in North America. Attacks are for predatory, territorial, or protective reasons. Most wilderness attacks have occurred when there were only one or two people in the vicinity. In this list, three species of bear are recognized: the brown bear (Ursus arctos, commonly known as the grizzly bear), the American black bear (Ursus americanus), and the polar bear (Ursus maritimus).