Polar bear hurts skier in national park near Pangnirtung
Helicopter unable to land due to low clouds; other visitors helped injured skier, says Parks Canada
Parks Canada says a skier was injured by a polar bear Thursday in Auyuittuq National Park. (File photo by Mélanie Ritchot)
A skier injured by a polar bear in Auyuittuq National Park near Pangnirtung early Thursday had to be helped by other park visitors to reach the Summit Lake emergency shelter.
However, as of about 3 p.m. a helicopter was still unable to land and evacuate the people due to a low cloud ceiling, Parks Canada reported in a news release late Thursday afternoon. The Parks Canada statement did not say if the injured skier was a man or woman, or give the person’s age.
There was no word on the condition of the person injured by the polar bear.
“The injured skier was assisted by other visitors who were able to get to the Summit Lake emergency shelter safely, where they waited for support from Parks Canada staff,” the release said.
“Communication devices were carried by the visitors and allowed them to connect to Parks Canada staff quickly.”
Parks Canada staff helped to evacuate the visitors while the helicopter waited for conditions to clear. “The situation is ongoing,” the mid-afternoon release said.
The Parks Canada website describes the Auyuittuq National Park terrain as “towering peaks of the Akshayuk Pass overlook a natural corridor through a landscape of sprawling glaciers, steep fiords and winding river valleys.”
It says the park’s name means “the land that never melts” in Inuktitut.
Thanks to Parks Canada for not letting people carry firearms in polar bear country. Crazy.
I never understood why people are not allowed to carry any guns in that park. Those people are lucky the bear didn’t kill them. I’m bet if they had a gun this wouldn’t have happen.
If they didn’t have a gun, how did the skiers convince the bear to leave the scene?
Bangers?
It must’ve been more than bangers. There was another blog post about what happened, and it seems like the bear was injured by one of the hikers. I wish there would be more details provided on this.
16 hours later. No updates?
I think the parks Canada can be held liable for not providing guns for their safety! because there’s a strict rule against guns in that park! What parks have no guns law on a polar bear country ?