Man Dies While Protecting His Children from Polar Bear By Jack Davis
July 8, 2018 at 8:25am
A Canadian man who died last week after being mauled by a polar bear is being praised as a hero for protecting his children during the bear attack.
Aaron Gibbons, 31, was in the far north of Canada along Sentry Island in Hudson Bay when the attack took place, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Gibbons’ uncle, Gordy Kidlapik, according to ABC.
The RCMP said in a statement that Gibbons was unarmed at the time of the attack.
“The bear started to stalk or charge one of his children,” Kidlapik said, according to The Guardian. “He told his children to run back to the boat and put himself between his children and the bear.”
“The bear surprised them and he started trying to distract it … It turned on him as they were running,” Kidlapik said.
Once the children reached the family’s boat, they called for help using the boat’s CB radio.
“We actually heard the call for help,” said Kidlapik, according to CTV News. “It was terrible to listen to.”
“He died a hero,” said Kidlapik.
The bear was later shot and killed by nearby adults. The last polar bear attack in the region was 18 years ago.
Dan Pimentel of Nunavut’s Environment Department said officials will examine the bear to determine if there was a health reason for the attack.
“That will have to wait until our conservation officers get there and are able to examine the bear. There’s only limited information you can get right away as to the health of the bear.”
The community near the site of the attack said it felt the loss.
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Poster Comment:
Polar Bears are the only bears known to stalk humans. Grizzly Bears will attack but not stalk.