Elk Hunter Survives Grizzly Attack

CRANBROOK, B.C. - An elk hunter fought off a grizzly bear that attacked him Tuesday in a remote area of southeastern British Columbia.

"I probably just startled them and they came after me," Dale Graham said yesterday from his Cranbrook Regional Hospital bed. "Then one of them attacked me."

But the Cranbrook logger and farmer fought back. "I tried to shoot him, but he was on top of me," said Graham, 56. "You can't do much about it.

"But finally I did get him."

Graham was hunting in the rugged Tanglefoot Creek area about 45 miles northeast of Cranbrook on Tuesday.

"He got me in both arms, both legs, my neck, my chest, my face," said Graham, who is in satisfactory condition. "He got me pretty good."

Conservation officer Bill Stalker said Tanglefoot Creek is prime grizzly territory. "This time of year they're looking for food - they like elk," said Stalker, who said attempts to find the grizzlies failed.

Stalker said other people in the region have been warned of the potential danger.

Other maulings have been reported this season. On Oct. 9, two hunters were mauled to death by grizzly bears near Radium Hot Springs in British Columbia.

A coroner's report said Shane Fumerton and William Caspell, both of Abbotsford, encountered a mother grizzly and her two 1-year-old cubs. The mother bear attacked the men.