Multiple grizzlies may have attacked mother and daughter found dead, Canadian authorities say

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More than one grizzly may have been involved in a bear attack that relatives say left a mother and daughter dead in Bella Coola along the province’s central coast, the Conservation Officer Service in British Columbia said.

The service’s Inspector Jeff Tyre said in a video message that the second body had been found in a search by Royal Canadian Mounted Police and conservation officers on Tuesday afternoon that followed the discovery of the first set of remains a day earlier.

He said it’s “not yet clear if more than one bear was involved,” and any bears captured in the area will be assessed.

Family members of art therapist Jenny Balcarras and her daughter, Selah Reed, had reported them missing on Sunday.

Balcarras’ brother, Matthew Balcarras, said Wednesday that his sister was “incredibly strong” and had lived in many difficult, remote places, including Alaska, before moving to Bella Coola on B.C.’s central coast a few months ago.

“She was a beautiful artist and was an inspiration for me and my brothers,” Matthew Balcarras said of his sister.

Authorities have imposed a curfew on the community, about 1,000 kilometres north of Vancouver, as the search for the animal or animals behind the attack continues. If the “offending bear” is captured it will be killed to protect public safety, Tyre said.

A fundraiser set up by relative Mary Melissa Smith said Reed was 20, “with her whole life ahead of her,” while Balcarras leaves behind three young adult children, as well as a grandchild.

Balcarras left behind a son, two daughters and a grandson who now are “faced with the devastating loss of their mother,” while navigating the financial burden of arranging funeral services, Smith said.

The Central Coast Teachers’ Association said on social media that Balcarras had joined their school community as a counselor in August, and she devoted “countless hours to connecting with the students she served and worked closely with teachers and other staff supporting their well-being.”

The attack comes nearly a year after a grizzly attack on a group of 20 elementary school students and teachers in the same area, which left one adult and three children badly hurt.

The animal involved in that attack last November was never captured.

Kim Titchener, founder of Bear Safety & More Inc. based in Calgary, said she was concerned when she saw reports about the women on Facebook hiking groups.

“When I saw that they were missing and in the area that they were missing, my heart just dropped because I just kind of knew this could be a bear attack,” Titchener said.

“This community and area have suffered so much last year,” she said, referring to the grizzly attack on schoolchildren.

Bella Coola is well-known for its large population of grizzly and black bears, and Titchener said it’s common for people in Bella Coola to see bears walking near their homes.

Titchener said there have been “concerning pressures” on bear populations in British Columbia because of the loss of habitat, food stress caused by drought and climate change, setting off more conflicts with people.

“I don’t know if Bella Coola suffered from any drought issues, but certainly other parts of the province of B.C. did,” she said.

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不列颠哥伦比亚省保护官员服务处表示，在贝拉库拉（Bella Coola）发生的一起熊袭击事件中，可能有不止一头灰熊参与其中。据亲属称，这起事件导致一对母女死亡。贝拉库拉位于该省中部海岸。

该部门的督察杰夫·泰尔在一段视频信息中表示，第二具尸体是在周二下午由加拿大皇家骑警和自然保护官员进行的搜寻中发现的，此前一天他们发现了第一具遗骸。

他说，目前“尚不清楚是否有多头熊卷入此事”，在该地区捕获的任何熊都将接受评估。

艺术治疗师珍妮·巴尔卡拉斯和她的女儿塞拉·里德的家人于周日报告她们失踪。

巴尔卡拉斯的哥哥马修·巴尔卡拉斯周三表示，他的妹妹“非常坚强”，曾在许多艰苦偏远的地方生活过，包括阿拉斯加，几个月前搬到了不列颠哥伦比亚省中部海岸的贝拉库拉。

“她是一位才华横溢的艺术家，也是我和我兄弟们的灵感来源，”马修·巴尔卡拉斯谈到他的妹妹时说道。

当局已对位于温哥华以北约1000公里处的这片社区实施宵禁，目前仍在搜寻袭击事件中的肇事动物。泰尔表示，如果“肇事熊”被捕获，为了公共安全，它将被击毙。

亲属玛丽·梅丽莎·史密斯发起的筹款活动称，里德年仅 20 岁，“她的人生才刚刚开始”，而巴尔卡拉斯则留下了三个年轻的成年子女和一个孙子。

史密斯说，巴尔卡拉斯身后留下一个儿子、两个女儿和一个孙子，他们现在“正面临着失去母亲的巨大悲痛”，同时还要承担安排葬礼服务的经济负担。

中央海岸教师协会在社交媒体上表示，巴尔卡拉斯于 8 月加入该校担任辅导员，她“投入了无数时间与她服务的学生建立联系，并与教师和其他工作人员密切合作，支持他们的福祉”。

此次袭击事件发生近一年前，同一地区曾发生一起骇人的熊袭击事件，袭击目标为 20 名小学生和教师，造成一名成年人和三名儿童重伤。

去年11月发动袭击的那只动物一直没有被抓获。

位于卡尔加里的 Bear Safety & More Inc. 的创始人 Kim Titchener 表示，当她在 Facebook 徒步旅行群组中看到有关这些女性的报道时，她感到很担忧。

“当我看到他们失踪，并且失踪地点就在附近时，我的心一下子沉了下去，因为我当时就觉得这可能是熊袭击，”蒂奇纳说。

“去年这个社区和地区遭受了太多苦难，”她指的是那起针对学童的可怕熊袭击事件。

贝拉库拉以其大量的灰熊和黑熊而闻名，蒂奇纳说，贝拉库拉的居民经常会看到熊在自家附近走动。

蒂奇纳表示，由于栖息地丧失、干旱和气候变化造成的食物短缺，不列颠哥伦比亚省的熊群数量面临着“令人担忧的压力”，从而引发了更多与人类的冲突。

“我不知道贝拉库拉是否遭受了干旱问题，但卑诗省其他地区肯定遭受了干旱问题，”她说。