List of fatal bear attacks in North America

Bear danger area closure sign of the type used at Denali National Park and Preserve

This is a list of human deaths caused by bear attacks in North America by decade in reverse chronological order. These fatalities have been documented through news media, reports, cause-of-death statistics, scientific papers, or other sources. For general information on the topic, see bear attack.

Fatal bear attacks in North America have occurred in a variety of settings. There have been several in wilderness habitats of bears involving hikers, hunters, and campers. Brown bear (including the subspecies grizzly bear) incidents have occurred in its native range spanning Alaska, Northern Canada, and Western Canada, and portions of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The locations of black bear wilderness fatal attacks reflect its wider range.

Bears held captive by animal trainers, in zoos or 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 bears are recognized: the black bear (Ursus americanus), the brown bear (Ursus arctos), and the polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

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  American black bear in Labrador, Canada
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  Grizzly bear in Denali National Park, Alaska
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  Polar bear in Churchill, Canada

This article contains dynamic lists that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

2020s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
John Woods, 60, male	July 29, 2024	Wild	Shamattawa First Nation, Manitoba	The 60-year-old who went missing in a northeastern Manitoba First Nation, Canada, is believed to have been killed by a bear, RCMP say, a week after police responded to a bear attack that left another person in the area injured. It is so far undetermined if the attack was initiated by a black or a brown bear, or even a polar bear, as the latter has been seen in this area before, and descend into land every July when the Hudson Bay ice breaks up.
Patrice Miller, 71, female	November 8, 2023	Wild	Downieville, California	Sheriff's deputies found Miller's remains during a welfare check. There were signs that a bear had entered the house and mauled the body, but initially, the Sierra County Sheriff's Office thought this had happened after Miller's death. However, an autopsy confirmed the bear had killed Miller. The male bear was trapped and killed, and DNA testing confirmed it was the bear responsible. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Miller's death is the first confirmed fatal attack by a black bear in California.
Steven Jackson, 66, male	June 16, 2023	Wild	Groom Creek, Arizona	The victim was sitting in a chair outside of his campsite when an adult male black bear attacked him. The bear dragged him about 75 yards and began consuming him. Neighbors heard his screams for help amid the struggle and tried to scare the bear away by yelling and honking horns, but to no avail. One neighbor eventually grabbed a rifle and shot the bear, killing it, but Jackson was already dead. The bear was 365 lbs, estimated at 7 to 10 years old, and was in good condition with no signs of disease. Officials ultimately determined that the bear acted in an unprovoked predatory attack.
Unnamed female, 26	July 31, 2021	Wild	Swan Hills, Alberta	The victim worked for a helicopter company, which provided transportation for tree planters, when she was attacked by an adult female black bear. The woman was killed as result of the attack. The bear was tracked and killed by authorities.
Laney Malavolta, 39, female	April 30, 2021	Wild	Durango, Colorado	Malavolta was attacked and killed while hiking with her dogs in the forest above and to the west of US 550, near Trimble. Her body showed signs of partial consumption. Authorities euthanized a mother black bear and two cubs found nearby. After an autopsy, it was determined that the mother bear and one of her cubs had fed upon Malavolta.
Patrick Madura, 43, male	September 2020	Wild	Great Smoky Mountains National Park	Madura was backpacking in the park. His remains were found on September 11, 2020, near the remote Hazel Creek area where he had been camping. Backpackers first found an unoccupied tent at Hazel Creek Campsite 82, then discovered what appeared to be human remains across the creek with a bear scavenging in the area and alerted park rangers. An autopsy concluded that Madura had been killed by the bear.
Stephanie Blais, 44, female	August 20, 2020	Wild	Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan	Blais was communicating with her father from a satellite phone while camping with her two children and husband at a family cabin on McKie Lake when the bear attacked her. Her husband, Curtis, was inside the cabin's kitchen 98 feet (30 m) away. The investigation showed the attack was unprovoked and predatory in nature. Curtis subsequently sprayed the bear with pepper spray, but this only aggravated the animal. He grabbed a gun and shot it twice, killing the bear.
Peter Franczak, 67, male	July 20, 2020	Wild	Red Lake, Ontario	Franczak went blueberry picking in the morning and did not return. Officers of the Ontario Provincial Police went to search for him and found his remains along with a black bear in the vicinity. Postmortem examination later attributed Franczak's death to be a bear attack. The bear was killed by police when they arrived at the scene.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Tad Fujioka, 50, male	October 29, 2024	Wild	Sitka, Alaska	Fujioka was reported overdue from a deer hunting trip on October 29, 2024. At approximately 11:30 on October 30, 2024 search teams located his remains.
Doug Inglis, 62, male Jenny Gusse, 62, female	September 29, 2023	Wild	Red Deer River Valley, Banff National Park, Alberta	A response team trained in wildlife attacks were mobilized, after receiving an alert from an inReach GPS device at about 8 p.m. on September 29, 2023, but weather conditions at the time did not allow for helicopter use, leading the team to travel to the location by ground through the night. The response team arrived at 1 a.m. on September 30 and found two deceased individuals and their dog (Tress), also killed. A grizzly bear displaying aggressive behavior was encountered and euthanized at the site.
Amie Adamson, 48, female	July 21, 2023	Wild	West Yellowstone, Montana	Adamson's body was discovered on morning of July 22 by a hiker on the Buttermilk Trail, located about eight miles west of the gateway community of West Yellowstone, Montana. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) said July 23 that grizzly bear tracks were found at the scene and that the investigation is ongoing, while the coroner's office quickly determined that she died of severe blood loss due to a mauling. The grizzly bear was later killed by wildlife staff after it broke into a home near West Yellowstone on September 2, 2023, accompanied with a cub. The officials communicated that the same bear had also injured a person near an Idaho state park back in 2020.
Seth Michael Plant, 30, male	May 10, 2022	Wild	Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska	A group of soldiers were attacked by a sow while mapping out a training site for a land navigation course. Their presence prompted the bear to emerge from its den and knock down two of the soldiers; one later died.
Craig Clouatre, 40, male	March 25, 2022	Wild	Six Mile Creek, Park County, Montana	Clouatre's maimed body was discovered on March 25.
Leah Davis Lokan, 65, female	July 6, 2021	Wild	Ovando, Montana	Lokan was attacked and killed in her tent near her campsite in Powell County by a grizzly bear. The bear had wandered into the campsite multiple times before the attack. The grizzly bear was later identified and killed by wildlife officials.
Barbara Collister, female, 68	May 25, 2021	Wild	Water Valley, Alberta	Collister was attacked and killed by a bear while walking on trails on her private property. An aggressive grizzly sow and a cub were observed shortly afterwards by wildlife officers nearby. A mature non-lactating female grizzly bear with worn teeth was then captured and euthanized, with DNA testing confirming this was the responsible bear. This attack occurred about 24 kilometres away from the May 4, 2021, attack that killed David Lertzman, but the DNA testing confirmed that different bears were involved.
David Lertzman, 59, male	May 4, 2021	Wild	Waiparous, Alberta	Lertzman was attacked and killed by a bear, determined to be a female brown bear, while out jogging. The bear is suspected to have attacked Lertzman from behind, sending him off a 300m embankment.
Charles "Carl" Mock, 40, male	April 17, 2021	Wild	West Yellowstone, Montana	Wilderness guide Charles "Carl" Mock, 40, was attacked on Thursday, April 15, 2021, while fishing north of West Yellowstone near Baker's Hold Campground. He was mauled by a 20-year-old male grizzly bear likely defending a moose carcass near Yellowstone National Park and died in a hospital on April 17. The offending bear was shot and killed by wildlife authorities after it charged them.
Austin Pfeiffer, 22, male	September 20, 2020	Wild	Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska	Pfeiffer was on a 10-day moose hunt with a friend near the Chisana River Drainage. He was cleaning a moose they had killed when the bear attacked without warning. Pfeiffer was killed by the bear.
Daniel Schilling, 46, male	July 29, 2020	Wild	Hope, Alaska	Schilling was killed while clearing a path several miles behind his cabin. An empty can of bear spray was found at the scene. There were no witnesses to the attack.

Polar bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Unnamed logistics worker	August 8, 2024	Wild	Brevoort Island, Nunavut	A worker at BAF-3, a North Warning System Long Range Radar site, was attacked and killed by two polar bears. Employees of Nasittuq Corporation, who operate the site, killed one of the bears.
Summer Myomick, 24, female Clyde Ongtowasruk, 1, male	January 17, 2023	Wild	Wales, Alaska	Myomick was attacked and killed by a polar bear in the small village of Wales, Alaska. The attack happened at 2:30 pm. The polar bear had chased several residents of the community, before it killed the woman and her 1-year-old son. The bear was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair.

2010s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Catherine Sweatt-Mueller, 62, female	September 1, 2019	Wild	Red Pine Island, Ontario	Sweatt-Mueller left her cabin on an island on Rainy Lake, Ontario, to check on her dogs and did not return. Police sent to find her encountered a large black bear near her body. The bear, which was behaving in a predatory manner, was killed on the spot.
Erin Johnson, 27, female	June 19, 2017	Wild	Pogo mine, Alaska	Johnson, a contract employee for Pogo Mine, was killed while collecting soil samples. The bear was shot and killed by mine personnel.
Patrick Cooper, 16, male	June 18, 2017	Wild	Indian, Alaska	Cooper was chased and killed by a bear while participating in and completing the juniors' division of the Bird Ridge trail's running race. Cooper called his brother as he descended the trail, to say he was being followed by a bear. Searchers found the runner's remains 500 yards (457 m) from the trail and shot the bear in the face with a shotgun, which scared the bear and forced him into the woods away from the body.
Barbara Paschke, 85, female	September 27, 2015	Wild	west of Kalispell, Montana	Paschke was attacked inside her home near Kalispell by a black bear. According to Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Paschke regularly illegally provided grain and birdseed to bears on her property, and had been cited for illegally feeding bears and other wildlife in 2012. Paschke died of her injuries on October 1, 2015, in a Kalispell hospital. Officials trapped and killed two food-conditioned black bears on Paschke's property, but were unable to capture or remove the bear that attacked Paschke. DNA identified one of the euthanized bears as a sibling of the bear involved in the fatal attack.
Daniel Ward O'Connor, 27, male	May 10, 2015	Wild	near Mackenzie, British Columbia	Ward was killed and eaten by a bear while he slept near the fire pit at his campsite. His fiancée who slept in a nearby motorhome discovered his remains the following morning. The bear was later shot and killed by conservation officers.
Darsh Patel, 22, male	September 21, 2014	Wild	near West Milford, New Jersey	Darsh Patel was about to begin hiking with four friends in Apshawa Preserve when they met a man and a woman at the entrance who told them there was a bear nearby and advised them to turn around. They continued on, found the bear, and Patel and another hiker took photos. They turned and began walking away, but the bear followed them. The hikers ran in different directions, and found that Patel was missing when they regrouped. Authorities found Patel's body after searching for two hours. A black bear found in the vicinity was killed and a necropsy revealed human remains in its digestive tract. According to the State Department of Environmental Protection, this was the first fatal bear attack on a human in New Jersey on record.
Lorna Weafer, 36, female	May 7, 2014	Wild	near Fort McMurray, Alberta	Weafer, a Suncor worker was attacked at the remote North Steepbank oil sands mine site while walking back to work after a trip to the washroom. Efforts by co-workers to scare off the bear were unsuccessful. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police shot and killed the bear upon arrival. A preliminary investigation determined that the attack was predatory.
Robert Weaver, 64, male	June 6, 2013	Wild	near Delta Junction, Alaska	Weaver was attacked by a black bear while walking back to his cabin on George Lake, according to his wife, who was able to flee inside the cabin and was uninjured. A 230 lb (104.3 kg) adult male black bear on the scene was killed by troopers and found to have some of Weaver's remains in his stomach.
Lana Hollingsworth, 61, female	July 25, 2011	Wild	Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona	Hollingsworth was attacked by a 250 lb (113.4 kg) black bear while walking her dog at a country club. Nearly a month later and after eleven surgeries, she died from a massive brain hemorrhage, which doctors believe was a result of the attack. The bear was tracked, shot, and killed.
Bernice Adolph, 72, female	June 2011	Wild	near Lillooet, British Columbia	Adolph's remains were found by police dogs after she was reported missing. She was an elder in the Xaxli'p First Nation. There was evidence that bears fed on Adolph's remains, and tried to enter her house. An autopsy confirmed that she died from a bear attack. Five bears suspected of being involved were killed by conservation officers, and DNA tests confirmed that one of the dead bears killed Adolph.
Brent Kandra, 24, male	August 19, 2010	Captive	Columbia Station, Ohio	Kandra was a bear caretaker on the property of Sam Mazzola, who kept exotic pets. The bear was out of its cage for feeding. Prior to the attack, Sam Mazzola had had his license to exhibit animals revoked, but he was still allowed to keep the animals on his property. He also accumulated dozens of dangerous, exotic animals despite past convictions and losing his license after animal rights activists complained he was making money by letting people wrestle bears.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Julien Gauthier, 44, male	August 15, 2019	Wild	Tulita, Northwest Territories	The French composer and soundman was travelling along the Mackenzie River to record sounds of nature for a musical project. When he was asleep in his tent, he was grabbed by a grizzly and taken away and eaten by the bear. His corpse was found the next day.
Valérie Théorêt, 37, female Adele Roesholt, 10 months, female	November 26, 2018	Wild	Einarson Lake, Yukon	The mother and child were attacked near their cabin while on a trip to manage trapping lines. The child's father Gjermund Roesholt shot the bear dead when he returned to the cabin and it charged him.
Anthony David Montoya, 18, male	October 1, 2018	Wild	Admiralty Island, Alaska	Montoya was working at a remote mining site on Admiralty Island, Alaska, when he was killed and eaten by a sow brown bear and two cubs. All three bears were killed.
Mark Uptain, 37, male	September 14, 2018	Wild	Teton Wilderness, Wyoming	Uptain, a guide for Martin Outfitters, was cleaning an elk that he and his client Corey Chubon had shot when the bear attacked. The bear was a sow with a 1½-year-old male cub. The hunter and his guide were dressing an elk carcass and had left a canister of bear spray and a Glock 20 pistol out of reach. As the bear attacked, Chubon, unfamiliar with the operation of a Glock pistol, was unable to fire and attempted to throw it at Uptain who failed to catch it. The bear turned on Uptain. Chubon fled with injuries as the bear attacked Uptain. After staggering 50 yards (46 m) uphill from the dead elk, Uptain was killed by the mother and possibly by the cub as well. The bears were shot and killed by Wyoming Fish and Game officials.
Mike Soltis, 44, male	June 19, 2018	Wild	Eagle River, Alaska	Soltis was day hiking alone along the Eagle River. After failing to return, a search party was dispatched. Rangers found a grizzly bear sitting on Soltis's remains. The bear then attacked the search party, badly mauling one searcher. The search party retreated from the area. The bear escaped before more searchers arrived.
Brad Treat, 38, male	June 29, 2016	Wild	Flathead National Forest, Montana	Treat and another man were on mountain bikes on U.S. Forest Service land near Halfmoon Lakes. According to the official Board of Review report on the incident, Treat's mountain bike collided at high speed with a large male grizzly bear "after rounding a blind curve in the trail." The bear immediately attacked Treat in response to being struck by the bicycle. The second rider escaped uninjured and summoned help. The bear was identified via DNA from a previous research project, but was not captured or killed because its behavior was a natural response to a surprise encounter involving physical contact.
Lance Crosby, 63, male	August 7, 2015	Wild	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Crosby, an employee at a medical clinic in the park, was reported missing when he did not report for work. A park ranger found his body in a popular off-trail area less than a mile (1 600 m) from Elephant Back Loop Trail, an area he was known to frequent. His body was partially consumed and covered. Puncture wounds on his arms indicated he had tried to defend himself. Based on the presence of a sow grizzly and a cub in the area, the sow was deemed responsible for the attack. The sow was captured and killed after it was found to be the bear that killed Crosby. There were public appeals to not kill the sow, but the park superintendent decided there was a risk the sow might kill again; based on July 6, 2011, and August 24, 2011, killings in the park, where another sow was present at both those killings.
Claudia Huber, 42, female	October 14, 2014	Wild	near Teslin, Yukon	A 25-year-old healthy male grizzly bear broke into a home and chased the victim and her husband outside. The bear pursued and fatally attacked Ms. Huber. Her husband, Matthias Liniger, shot at the bear and killed it.
Ken Novotny, 53, male	September 17, 2014	Wild	near Norman Wells, Northwest Territories	While on a hunting trip near Norman Wells, Novotny was charged and struck by a bear. Friends reported Novotny had just killed a moose and was processing the carcass when the bear "came out of nowhere." He died on the scene. Authorities later found and killed the bear responsible for his death.
Rick Cross, 54, male	September 7, 2014	Wild	Kananaskis Country, Alberta	Cross, a hunter, was killed by a mother bear when he accidentally got between her and her cubs. Park rangers stated that it appeared that Cross managed to fire his rifle before being overwhelmed. RCMP said it appeared he wandered into the area where the mother and cub were feeding on a dead deer.
Adam Thomas Stewart, 31, male	September 4, 2014	Wild	Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming	Stewart was conducting research alone in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in northwest Wyoming near the SE corner of Yellowstone National Park. This is high density bear habitat and he was in Cub Creek. After he failed to return, a search found his body. The coroner suspects it was a grizzly bear, but the species hasn't officially been determined. The pathologist noted premortem punctures to Stewart's skull, indicating the cause of death was from a bear attack. The FWS report says he was not carrying bear spray or a firearm.
Richard White, 49, male	August 24, 2012	Wild	Denali National Park, Alaska	White was backpacking alone along the Toklat River. After hikers found an abandoned backpack and torn clothing, rangers investigated and found a male grizzly bear sitting on White's remains. The bear was shot and killed by an Alaska State Trooper. A necropsy of the bear and photographs recovered from White's camera confirmed the attack. The photographs in White's camera showed that he was taking photos of the bear in a span of eight minutes from 50 yards (46 m) to 100 yards (91 m). It was the first fatal bear attack recorded in Denali National Park.
Tomas Puerta, 54, male	October 2012	Wild	Chichagof Island, Alaska	After passers-by spotted an unattended skiff, they investigated and encountered a grizzly bear sow and two cubs. Alaska State troopers and Sitka Mountain rescue personnel then found evidence of a campsite and fire on the beach. There was evidence of a struggle, and upon following a trail of disturbed vegetation, they found Puerta's body, cached and partially eaten.
John Wallace, 59, male	August 24, 2011	Wild	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Wallace's remains were found by hikers on the Mary Mountain Trail, northeast of Old Faithful. Wallace was hiking alone. An autopsy showed that Wallace died from a bear attack. According to a report released by Yellowstone rangers, park officials had attempted to give Wallace a lecture about bear safety, but he was not interested, calling himself a "grizzly bear expert". DNA evidence later determined that the same sow that killed Brian Matayoshi July 6, 2011, was in the vicinity of Wallace's corpse, though it was not proved that this bear killed Wallace. The bear was killed by park officials. Evidence showed that Wallace was attacked after sitting down on a log to eat a snack and the attack was predatory, rather than defensive.
Brian Matayoshi, 57, male	July 6, 2011	Wild	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Matayoshi and his wife were hiking the Wapiti Lake Trail, and came upon a mother grizzly bear in an open meadow. The couple began to walk away, and the bear charged. After attempting to run away, Matayoshi was fatally bitten and clawed. Matayoshi's wife hid behind a tree, was lifted from the ground by the bear, and dropped. She played dead, and the bear left the area. She was not injured. An initial investigation by the National Park Service found the bear's actions were defensive against a perceived threat to her cubs. Since the attack was not predatory and the bear had no known violent history towards humans, no immediate action was taken towards the bear, the bear was later killed after it was found to be at the site of another fatal attack August 24, 2011. A later investigation determined that the couple's running from the bear was a mistake, and the fatal attack was a "one in 3 million occurrence".
Kevin Kammer, 48, male	July 28, 2010	Wild	Gallatin National Forest, Montana	Kammer was in his tent at Soda Butte Campground when a mother bear attacked and dragged him 25 feet (7.6 m) away. Two other campers in separate campsites were also attacked: a man was bitten in the leg, and a woman was bitten in the arm and upper body. The bear was caught in a trap set at the campground using pieces of a culvert and Kammer's tent. Later, the bear was killed, and her cubs were sent to ZooMontana. The mother bear's unusual predatory behavior was noted by authorities.
Erwin Frank Evert, 70, male	June 17, 2010	Wild	Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming	Evert, a field botanist, was mauled by a grizzly bear while hiking in the Kitty Creek Drainage area of the Shoshone National Forest, just east of Yellowstone National Park. The bear was trapped and tranquilized earlier in the day by a grizzly bear research team. Two days after the attack, the bear was shot and killed from a helicopter by wildlife officials. Initially it was reported that Evert ignored posted warnings to avoid the area due to the potential danger involved with the bear research. However, the sheriff's deputy who recovered the body and members of Evert's family stated that the warning signs were no longer present. A report released the following month confirmed that the warning signs were removed, though it also asserted that Evert knew there was a bear research study being conducted in the area. Evert's wife filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government, which was dismissed by district court judge Nancy D. Freudenthal.

Polar bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Darryl Kaunak, 33, male	August 23, 2018	Wild	Lyon Inlet, Nunavut	Three men from Naujaat, whose boat had broken down, were having tea on the morning of August 23 when a female bear and a cub surprised them. Leo Ijjangiaq fired a rifle to scare the bear but it attacked Laurent Junior Uttak before killing Darryl Kaunak. The mother and cub were killed. During the next three days, prior to being rescued, more bears approached the two survivors and at least one more bear was killed.
Aaron Gibbons, 31, male	July 3, 2018	Wild	Sentry Island, Nunavut	A polar bear approached a man and his children on Sentry Island. The man, identified as 31-year-old Aaron Gibbons from Arviat, put himself between the children and the bear and was attacked, causing fatal injuries. The bear was killed by other people who were also in the area.

2000s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	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 7, 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. The attack was dramatized in the 2014 Canadian film Backcountry by director Adam MacDonald.
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. Later, the Hay River Airport was named in his honor.
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.
Esther 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 one other teenager 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.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Robert Wagner, 48, male	October 1, 2008	Wild	near Sundre, Alberta	Wagner was reported missing after not returning from a hunting trip. His body was found less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from his parked truck. An autopsy revealed that he had been killed by a grizzly bear, which was shot by wildlife officers.
Stephan Miller, 39, male	April 22, 2008	Captive	Big Bear Lake, California	Rocky, a bear trained to perform in movies turned on its handler, fatally biting him in the neck. Prior to the attack, the bear was featured in the movie Semi-Pro. Pepper spray was used to subdue the bear.
Don Peters, 51, male	November 25, 2007	Wild	near Sundre, Alberta	Peters' body was found 200 metres (660 ft) from his parked truck. He was on a hunting trip. An autopsy confirmed that he died due to a grizzly bear attack. The bear that attacked Peters was captured and killed the following April.
Jean-François Pagé, 28, male	April 28, 2006	Wild	near Ross River, Yukon	Pagé was mauled while staking mineral claims. He unknowingly walked right past a bear den containing a sow and two cubs.
Arthur Louie, 60, male	September 20, 2005	Wild	near Bowron River, British Columbia	A female and two cubs attacked Louie on a remote forestry road. He was walking back to his gold mining camp after his car broke down.
Rich Huffman, 61, male Kathy Huffman, 58, female	June 23, 2005	Wild	Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska	The Huffmans were attacked while in their tent at a campsite along the Hulahula River 12 miles (19 km) upriver from Kaktovik. Two days later the campsite was discovered by three rafters while the bear was still nearby. The bear chased the rafters down the river for over half a mile (800 m) until it finally gave up. Later, a North Slope Borough Police officer investigating the scene shot and killed the bear at the campsite.
Isabelle Dubé, 35, female	June 5, 2005	Wild	Canmore, Alberta	Dubé was killed while jogging with two friends on the Bench Trail. After an initial attack, Dubé climbed a tree while her friends sought help. The bear brought Dubé down from the tree and mauled her. Fish and wildlife officers shot and killed the bear. At the time of the attack, the trail was closed, and the public had been told to avoid it. A few days earlier, the bear had been relocated from Canmore to Banff National Park.
Timothy Treadwell, 46, male Amie Huguenard, 37, female	October 5, 2003	Wild	Katmai National Park, Alaska	Treadwell and Huguenard's corpses were found by their pilot at Kaflia Bay. Treadwell was famous for his books and documentaries on living with wild bears in Alaska. State Troopers investigating the incident recovered an audiotape of the attack. The two were killed on the last night before their scheduled pickup after spending several months in the Alaskan bush. The attack is chronicled in the 2005 American documentary film Grizzly Man by German director Werner Herzog.
Timothy Hilston, 50, male	October 30, 2001	Wild	near Ovando, Montana	Hilston was attacked as he field dressed an elk in Western Montana. A female bear and her cubs suspected in the attack were killed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials. Hilston's widow sued federal and state agencies for negligence, and the lawsuits were dismissed by District Court judge Donald W. Molloy.
George Tullos, 41, male	July 14, 2000	Wild	Hyder, Alaska	Tullos' partially consumed body was found at a campground near the Canada–US border in Southeast Alaska. The bear was shot and killed.

1990s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Raymond Kitchen, 56, male Patti McConnell, 37, female	August 14, 1997	Wild	Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park, British Columbia	McConnell died from injuries while defending herself and her 13-year-old son Kelly from a black bear attack on a boardwalk to the hot springs. Kitchen heard the attack in progress, and was killed while attempting to rescue. Kelly and a 20-year-old man were also injured. The bear was shot while standing over the victims. McConnell's son received a Star of Courage for his attempt to save his mother. Kitchen also received the honor, posthumously.
Sevend Satre, 53, male	June 14, 1996	Wild	near Tatlayoko Lake, British Columbia	Satre was killed while checking fence lines near the central British Columbia community of Tatlayoko Lake, British Columbia. Investigation showed that the bear, a healthy male, had stalked Satre and his horse, for over 0.5 mi (0.80 km) before attacking.
Ian Dunbar, 4, male	September 16, 1994	Wild	70 Mile House, British Columbia	Dunbar was attacked in the back yard of his home. The bear was later killed by conservation officers.
Colin McClelland, 24, male	August 10, 1993	Wild	Fremont County, Colorado	A bear tore open the door to McClelland's trailer and attacked him at Waugh Mountain, Colorado. The bear was later killed by game wardens.
Darcy Staver, 33, female	July 8, 1992	Wild	Glennallen, Alaska	The bear entered her cabin and Staver and her husband fled to the roof. While Staver's husband went for help, the bear killed her. The bear was shot and killed by a neighbor.
Sébastien Lauzier, 20, male	June 14, 1992	Wild	near Cochrane, Ontario	Lauzier was attacked while taking soil samples. Lauzier's partner, Rod Barber, was able to drive off the bear with a pole and was not hurt. The incident occurred about 92 km (57 miles) northeast of Cochrane, just west of the Quebec border.
Raymond Jakubauskas, 32, male Carola Frehe, 48, female	October 11, 1991	Wild	Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario	While they were setting up camp on Bates Island, a black bear broke both of their necks. The bear then dragged their bodies into the woods and consumed the remains. When police arrived five days later, the bear was guarding the bodies. A park naturalist called the attack "right off the scale of normal bear behavior".
James Waddell, 12, male	May 26, 1991	Wild	Lesser Slave Lake, Alberta	In the Marten River Campground, Waddel was dragged from a tent during the night and killed.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Ned Rasmussen, 53, male	November 1, 1999	Wild	Uganik Island, Alaska	After Rasmussen disappeared on a deer hunting trip, he was found dead.
Ken Cates, 53, male	May 25, 1999	Wild	Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska	Cates was killed while hiking near Soldotna, Alaska in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Troopers found Cates' rifle, spent shell casings, and blood nearby which suggested that Cates may have shot the bear.
George Evanoff, 65, male	October 24, 1998	Wild	near Prince George, British Columbia	Evanoff was hiking on the Bearpaw Ridge, 72 kilometres (45 mi) northeast of Prince George, British Columbia. He encountered a grizzly feeding on a moose kill about a half-mile (800 m) from his cabin. He was bitten on the neck, but his body was not mauled or eaten by the bear.
Christopher Kress, 40, male	August 22, 1998	Wild	near Beaver Mines, Alberta	Kress was killed by a grizzly bear while fishing on the South Castle River, near the Beaver Mines campground in Alberta.
Craig Dahl, 26, male	May 17, 1998	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	Dahl's partially consumed remains were found three days after he set off to hike alone in the Two Medicine area of Glacier National Park. He was attacked by a mother and her two cubs.
Audelio Luis Cortes, 40, male	February 8, 1998	Wild	near Kenai, Alaska	Cortes was killed immediately after being bitten in the head while laying seismic line in the Swanson River area. His crew walked past the bear's den.
Robert Bell, 33, male	August 23, 1996	Wild	Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska	Bell was killed while hiking with a friend near the Kugrak river. They startled a mother bear feeding on salmon.
Christine Courtney, 32, female	July 5, 1996	Wild	Kluane National Park, Yukon	Courtney was killed while hiking on the Slim's Valley trail in Kluane National Park. Her husband was also attacked but survived. Park wardens killed the bear.
Shane Fumerton, 32, male Bill Caspell, 40, male	October 9, 1995	Wild	near Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia	Fumerton and Caspell were killed while securing an elk in the vicinity of Mount Soderhome, in the Southern Rocky Mountain Trench in southeastern British Columbia.
Marcie Trent, 77, female Larry Waldron, 45, male	July 1, 1995	Wild	near Anchorage, Alaska	Trent and her son Waldron were killed by a bear defending a moose carcass while they were hiking on the McHugh Creek Trail in Chugach State Park, near Anchorage, Alaska.
John Petranyi, 40, male	October 3, 1992	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	Petranyi was killed by a mother with two cubs on the Loop Trail, near the Granite Park Chalet.
Trevor Percy-Lancaster, 40, male	September 15, 1992	Wild	Jasper National Park, Alberta	Percy-Lancaster and his wife were setting up camp in an isolated area of the Tonquin Valley. They surprised a bear, and began running away. The bear initially caught Percy-Lancaster's wife, and then he distracted the bear, which turned on him.
Anton Bear, 6, male	July 10, 1992	Wild	near King Cove, Alaska	The six-year-old, his mother, and sister were walking down a road when they were approached by a grizzly that had just been feeding at the town dump. The family fled, but the boy was chased down by the bear and killed. The bear devoured most of the victim before villagers could kill the animal.

Polar bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Hattie Amitnak, 64, female	July 9, 1999	Wild	near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut	Amitnak was mauled after trying to distract a bear that attacked and injured two other people at a Hudson Bay camp. She was later awarded a posthumous medal of bravery by then-Governor-General of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson.
Carl Stalker, 28, male	December 8, 1990	Wild	Point Lay, Alaska	While Stalker was walking with his girlfriend, he was chased and consumed in the middle of the town. The bear was shot and killed near Stalker's corpse.

1980s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Gordon Ray, 24, male	May 29, 1985	Wild	near Fort Nelson, British Columbia	Ray was killed while on a tree planting project approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) south of Fort Nelson. He climbed a tree to avoid the bear, but fell, and was attacked. The bear was later shot by a helicopter pilot.
Daniel Anderson, 12, male	July 6, 1983	Wild	La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve, Quebec	Anderson was grabbed from his tent while camping. His body was found 100 feet (30 m) from the tent.
Melvin Rudd, 55, male	May 27, 1983	Wild	near Nipawin Provincial Park, Saskatchewan	Rudd was killed while fishing in central Saskatchewan.
Clifford David Starblanket, 26, male	May 21, 1983	Wild	near Canwood, Saskatchewan	Starblanket, a trapper living in the forest, suffered an attack to his throat and head.
Lee Randal Morris, 44, male Carol Marshall, 24, female	August 14, 1980	Wild	near Zama City, Alberta	Morris and Marshall were killed by the same bear in separate attacks over a span of two hours. They were working at a remote oil drilling camp.
Allan Russell Baines, 10, male	July 18, 1980	Wild	near Granisle, British Columbia	Baines was killed on a fishing trip with two friends.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Harley Seivenpiper, 40, male	November 4, 1988	Wild	Port Alexander, Alaska	Seivenpiper was killed while hunting alone. The bear dragged Seivenpiper's body almost 1-mile (1.6 km) uphill to a cache. When searchers approached the cache, the bear charged, and was shot and killed.
Gary Goeden, 29, male	July 23, 1987	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	Goeden's partially consumed remains were found at Natahki Lake, Many Glacier Valley, Glacier National Park. He was on a solo hike, and off-trail.
Charles Gibbs, 40, male	April 25, 1987	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	Gibbs was last seen alive following and photographing a bear with cubs at Elk Mountain in Glacier National Park. Investigators recovered film of the female approaching in attack mode at 50 yards (46 m).
William Tesinsky, 38, male	October 5, 1986	Wild	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Tesinkey, a photographer, was mauled after approaching a bear in the Otter Creek area of Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park. The bear was killed.
Brigitta Fredenhagen, 25, female	July 30, 1984	Wild	Yellowstone National Park	Fredenhagen was dragged from her tent during the night and killed at a backcountry campsite at the southern end of White Lake in Yellowstone National Park.
Roger May, 23, male	June 25, 1983	Wild	Gallatin National Forest, Montana	May was dragged from his tent, and eaten at the Rainbow Point campground, northwest of Yellowstone National Park. The bear was captured and killed with an injection of poison.
Laurence Gordon, 33, male	September 30, 1980	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	Gordon was killed at the Elizabeth Lake campsite in the Belly River Valley, Glacier National Park.
Ernest Cohoe, 38, male	August 24, 1980	Wild	near Banff, Alberta	While fishing with a friend just north of Banff, Alberta, a bear charged and bit off part of Cohoe's face. He died a week later as a result of the injuries.
Jane Ammerman, 19, female Kim Eberly, 19, male	July 24, 1980	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	The partially consumed bodies of Ammerman and Eberly were found near their campsite at Divide Creek in the St. Mary Valley. The bear was later killed by hunters from nearby Blackfeet Nation.

Polar bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Juan Perez, 11, male	May 19, 1987	Captive	Brooklyn, New York	Perez was killed by two bears after climbing a fence in Prospect Park Zoo, Brooklyn, New York. The bears were killed by police officers.
Thomas Mutanen, 46, male	November 29, 1983	Wild	Churchill, Manitoba	Mutanen was attacked and dragged on a street in Churchill. The bear was part of an annual migration to Hudson Bay. Due to a lack of ice on the bay, the bear wandered into the town.
Conrado Mones, 29, male	September 27, 1982	Captive	New York City	Mones was mauled after climbing three fences in New York City's Central Park Zoo to enter the bear's pen.

1970s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Lynn Orser, 30, female	July 2, 1978	Captive	King, Ontario	A bear trained to wrestle humans entered the home of its owner, professional wrestler Dave McKigney, and attacked and killed McKigney's friend, Orser, in her bedroom.
George Halfkenny, 16, male Mark Halfkenny, 12, male Billy Rhindress, 15, male	May 13, 1978	Wild	Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario	The three boys were stalked and killed while fishing near Radiant Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park. This was the first fatal bear attack in the park in eighty years.
Mary Ann Johns, 1, female	August 12, 1975	Captive	Stewardson, Illinois	While carnival workers were setting up, a bear was taken out of its cage and chained to a tree. Johns, whose parents were carnival workers, walked by and was attacked. The bear had previously attacked children.
Victoria Valdez, 4, female	May 16, 1974	Wild	Glenwood, Washington	Valdez was mauled while playing near her home. Her body was found 200 yards (180 m) from her home. Her father shot and killed a 250 pounds (110 kg) bear before finding his daughter's body.
John Richardson, 31, male	July 25, 1971	Wild	near Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado	Richardson was attacked while camping on private property, just west of Rocky Mountain National Park, and north of Grand Lake. The bear was later killed by a professional hunter. This was the first fatal black bear attack in Colorado in modern times.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Monty Adams, 32, male	September 15, 1979	Wild	near Pincher Creek, Alberta	While hunting alone for sheep west of Pincher Creek in Southern Alberta, Adams was mauled by a grizzly bear. Adams was found by two other hunters, and died when rescuers were removing him from the area.
Alison Muser, 5, female	July 1, 1977	Wild	Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta	Muser was mauled to death by a black colored Grizzly Bear while playing with her sister near Cameron Creek in Waterton Lakes National Park. She died en route to a Calgary hospital. The family had just recently moved to Canada from South Africa and was unaware of the danger posed by bears. The family threatened legal action against the park for failing to provide warnings of the dangers posed by the animals. The bear responsible for the attack was killed.
Mary Pat Mahoney, 22, female	September 23, 1976	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	Mahoney was dragged from a tent and killed at Many Glacier campground. Rangers killed two grizzly bears in the area a few hours after the attack.
Alan Precup, 25, male	September 11, 12 or 13, 1976; exact date unknown	Wild	Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska	Precup did not return after backpacking in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Days later, searchers found his campsite with his bare skeleton, one intact hand, and both feet still booted.
Barbara Chapman, 24, female	July 24, 1976	Wild	Glacier National Park, British Columbia	While hiking with a friend in British Columbia's Glacier National Park, Chapman rounded a bend to find a grizzly bear charging. The bear first attacked Chapman's friend, who initially resisted, but left him alone after he played dead. The bear then attacked Chapman, who fought back and was quickly killed. Chapman's friend sustained serious injuries, but was able to hike out for help. The grizzly bear that attacked and her three cubs were soon found and killed.
Jay Reeves, 38, male	August 3, 1974	Wild	Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska	Reeves was camping alone on the Alaskan Peninsula, near Cold Bay. A fisherman discovered a camp that looked like it was damaged by a bear, and found only Reeves' shoes. A helicopter spotted and shot a grizzly bear near the camp. Later, they found Reeves' bones, and an autopsy on the bear revealed human remains.
Wilf Etherington, 51, male	September 25, 1973	Wild	Banff National Park, Alberta	Etherington, a biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service, and a photographer were helping with the relocation of a troublesome grizzly bear in Banff National Park. The bear had been recently trapped and sedated. When the two men approached the bear, it charged and attacked Etherington.
Harry Walker, 25, male	June 25, 1972	Wild	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Walker was attacked by a bear that was feeding on food that was left out at his campsite near Old Faithful Inn.
Harvey Cardinal, 48, male	January 14, 1970	Wild	near Fort St. John, British Columbia	Cardinal was attacked and partially eaten while hunting near the Doig River. The bear had a gum infection, and was shot and killed.

Polar bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Lafayette Herbert, 43, male	August 26, 1976	Captive	Baltimore, Maryland	Herbert, who had a history of mental illness, was killed after he climbed into the polar bear enclosure at the Baltimore Zoo.
Richard Pernitzky, 18, male	January 5, 1975	Wild	Inuvik, Northwest Territories	Pernitzky was mauled at an Imperial Oil exploration site. The bear was later shot and killed.
Richard Hale, 19, male	January 19, 1972	Captive	Toledo, Ohio	Hale's body was found at the bottom of the polar bear grotto at the Toledo Zoo. There was evidence that Hale was under the influence of drugs at the time of his attack.

1960s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Jack Ottertail, 53, male	October 1, 1968	Wild	near Atikokan, Ontario	Ottertail was killed while on a walk. A bear found near the body was shot and killed.
Susan Duckitt, 11, female	August 8, 1967	Wild	near Okanagan Landing, British Columbia	Duckitt and a friend were picnicking by Okanagan Lake. They went on a walk up a hill and encountered the bear standing on its hind feet. The girls ran away, and Duckitt was caught. A man tracked down the bear and killed it with six shots.
Phyllis Tremper, 3, female	September 7, 1966	Captive	Prescott, Arizona	A pet bear dragged Tremper into its cage at the Ponderosa Trailer Park in Prescott, Arizona. The bear's owner shot and killed it.
Vernon Sauvola, 50, male	June 26, 1965	Wild	Aitkin, Minnesota	The report claims Sauvola was attacked while he was fishing in a stream, and his body was dragged 60 feet (18 m). Mr. Sauvola was not found for five days, so substantial decomposition had occurred. It is unclear as to whether a bear actually attacked Mr. Sauvola or if a bear scavenged on the body after he died from another cause based on the visual evidence at the scene.
Sidney Smith, 26, male	September 17, 1964	Wild	near Schefferville, Quebec	Smith, a technician on a radar line, was attacked by a black bear in a remote area. There was evidence that Smith tried to defend himself with a hunting knife.
William Strandberg, 51, male	August 16, 1963	Wild	near Fairbanks, Alaska	A bear killed Strandberg approximately 160 miles (260 km) west of Fairbanks. Strandberg was a member of a prominent Alaskan mining family.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Russell Ringer, 49, male	March 31, 1969	Captive	Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri	Ringer was crushed by his pet bear, which had no teeth or claws, as he entered its cage for a wrestling match at the military base.
Julie Helgeson, 19, female	August 13, 1967	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	While camping near the Granite Park Chalet, Helgeson was dragged from her tent. Her boyfriend was also severely mauled. This incident became widely known as "Night of the Grizzlies" when two young women were separately attacked in Glacier National Park, Montana, by grizzly bears.
Michele Koons, 19, female	August 13, 1967	Wild	Glacier National Park, Montana	Koons was camping with a group at the Trout Lake campsite. A bear invaded their camp, and while other campers climbed trees, Koons was caught in her sleeping bag and killed. This incident became widely known as "Night of the Grizzlies" when two young women were separately attacked in Glacier National Park, Montana, by grizzly bears. Although Helgeson and Koons were killed on the same night, these were separate attacks by different bears approximately 9 miles (14 km) apart. Both bears were killed two nights after their attacks.

Polar bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Paulosie Meeko, 19, male	November 17, 1968	Wild	Churchill, Manitoba	Meeko's throat was slashed by a polar bear, and he died less than two hours after the attack. The bear was shot by the police.

1950s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Lyndon Hooper, 51, male	September 6, 1959	Wild	near Cadomin, Alberta	Hooper was fishing alone when attacked 20 miles (32 km) from Cadomin, Alberta. His mutilated body was found in a stream. Three days later, a forest ranger shot a bear .5 miles (0.80 km) from where Hooper's body was recovered. It was later discovered that the bear's stomach contained human hair.
Barbara Coates, 7, female	August 12, 1958	Wild	Jasper National Park, Alberta	While Coates was picking berries outside of her family's Sunwapta Falls cottage, a black bear appeared. Coates ran to the cottage, but the bear chased and mauled her.
Andrew Mark Palmer, 3, male	August 11, 1953	Captive	Flagstaff, Arizona	While Palmer was playing with his grandparents' pet bear, he was mauled. The bear was shot and killed by a neighbor.
Rudolph Gaier, 50, male	November 19, 1952	Wild	near Anchorage, Alaska	Gaier and a black bear were found dead at a remote mountain cabin. An investigator concluded that Gaier shot the bear after it entered his cabin, and before dying, the bear fatally clawed Gaier.
Robert Huckins, 18, male	September 19, 1952	Captive	Crawford Notch State Park, New Hampshire	After feeding a bear in its cage, Huckins was chased and killed. The bear also injured three other people, and was eventually shot and killed with thirteen gun shots.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Sam Adams, 45, male	October 27, 1958	Wild	near Ovando, Montana	Adams was missing after hunting near the Continental Divide northeast of Missoula. His rifle was found smashed in three parts. Laboratory studies showed evidence that Adams was in a fight with the bear, which was described as "probably a grizzly".
Kenneth Scott, 29, male	October 22, 1956	Wild	near Augusta, Montana	While elk hunting, a hunter in Scott's group was attacked, and the bear was shot and wounded. When they went back to kill the bear, Scott's gun jammed and the bear mauled him. The bear was later killed by another hunter.
Paul Lemery, 28, male	October 9, 1956	Captive	Libertyville, Illinois	Lemery, an animal trainer, was attacked when taking a bear out of its cage. He was preparing for a television appearance with the bear.
Willies McBride, ?, male	September 19, 1955	Wild	near Eureka, Alaska	McBride was mauled while hunting alone. The bear was not found.

1940s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Carol Ann Pomeranky, 3, female	July 7, 1948	Wild	Marquette National Forest, Michigan	Pomeranky was taken by a bear outside of her home on the Marquette National Forest (now the Hiawatha National Forest) in Michigan. She was dragged 100 yards (91 m). The bear was tracked and killed.
Anton Rauch, 59, male	August 2, 1945	Captive	Chicago, Illinois	Rauch, a worker at the Lincoln Park Zoo, was attacked while cleaning the bear's cage.
Carl Herrick, 37, male	November 23, 1943	Wild	West Townshend, Vermont	Herrick was hunting in West Townshend, Vermont, and his body was found with a blackened face and scratches. His rifle and bear tracks were nearby. A theory is that Herrick shot the bear and thought it was dead, and was squeezed to death when he approached.

• 
  A black bear searching garbage pails in Yellowstone National Park, c. 1905. Bear attacks on humans led to changes in park's garbage management procedures.
• 
  A man wrestling with a trained bear. There have been instances of bears killing their trainers.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Richard Strand, 8, male	September 10, 1945	Captive	Seattle, Washington	Strand was attacked while playing with a pet bear. The bear also bit a neighbor who attempted to rescue Strand. The bear was taken to Woodland Park Zoo.
Richard Havemann, 68, male	December 11, 1942	Captive	San Diego, California	Havemann, an animal trainer, was attacked by a Himalayan brown bear at the San Diego Zoo.
Martha Hansen, 45, female	August 23, 1942	Wild	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Hansen left her cabin to go to the restroom. As she rounded a corner, she surprised a bear and was mauled. Hansen was taken to the hospital and died four days later due to injuries sustained during the attack. Hansen's sister sought, and eventually successfully received compensation for expenses incurred to care for Martha. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill in 1944 granting the family $1894.95.
Thomas Miller, 28, male	June 14, 1941	Captive	Detroit, Michigan	Miller, a carnival employee, was struck on his head by a bear from Canada. The attack occurred when Miller took the bear out of its cage to perform tricks for his wife.

1930s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
George Langley, 55, male, James Virtue, 68, male	October 15, 1936	Captive	Ellsworth, Maine	Langley owned a gas station where he kept the bear. After entering the bear's cage to feed it, Langley and his helper were attacked. The bear was shot and killed.
Clarence Staley, 54, male	November 11, 1934	Captive	Mankato, Minnesota	Staley was mauled by a bear that he had raised from a cub. The caged bear attacked Staley when he tried to retrieve a purse that had been dropped inside the bear's cage.
William Thomas "Bill" Brown Jr, 64, male	November 11, 1934	Captive	Pecos County, Texas	Brown was killed while trying to recapture a bear from his roadside zoo. A posse shot and killed the bear.
Grant Taylor, 11, male	October 2, 1933	Captive	Brookhaven, New York	On his walk home from school, Taylor stopped to feed an apple to a bear tethered in front of an inn. The bear mauled Taylor and crushed him against a wire cage. Motorists stopped and used sticks and stones to try to separate the bear from Taylor. Eventually, a man operating a nearby roadside stand came and shot and killed the bear. An examination revealed that the bear hadn't eaten in two days. The Inn had two bears that were trapped five years previously in the Adirondacks, and were frequently fed by passers-by. Both bears were killed.
Peter Matthew Ryan, 5, male	October 9, 1932	Captive	Albion, New York	Ryan was attacked after trying to get a close look at a pet bear. The bear was tied to a fence at Mount Albion Cemetery after a truck transporting it broke down.
Emerson Joyce, 60, male	June 2, 1930	Captive	Watertown, New York	A female black bear who recently had her cubs taken away killed her feeder, Joyce. This occurred at the John C. Thompson Park Zoo.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Charles Wyman, 76, male	July 18, 1934	Captive	Denver, Colorado	Wyman, a zookeeper, was attacked by two grizzly bears at the Denver Zoo after spraying them with a water hose. It was speculated that the bears were in a foul mood due to warm weather. The bears were shot.
John Macdonald, 70, male	October 1932	Wild	near Dawson, Yukon	Macdonald's mutilated body was initially found in the wilderness 20 miles (32 km) north of Dawson. Macdonald's corpse was moved to a cabin, and before the police arrived, the bear broke into the cabin and scattered the remains. Macdonald was a woodcutter who lived alone in a shack on the Yukon River.
Thomas Earl, 56, male	July 8, 1932	Captive	Cleveland, Ohio	Earl, a zookeeper at the Cleveland Brookside Zoo, was mauled by a brown bear when feeding it in its pen. After a vicious struggle, police shot the bear. Earl was also mistakenly shot, but it was determined that he was already dead. Earlier in the day, Earl had been fired from his job.

1920s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Olga Gregorchuk, <10, female	August 29, 1929	Wild	near Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba	Gregorchuk was minding her four-year-old brother, Bill Gregorchuk, while their parents were out working the farm. A large (420-pound) black bear chased Olga and her brother into their family's farm house where it knocked the door in, attacked Olga, dragged her out and ate her. By the time her body was found, it had been consumed with the exception of her head. A small gravestone in Red Deer Cemetery, Manitoba, describes the death.

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Jack Thayer, 31, male	October 16, 1929	Wild	Admiralty Island, Alaska	Thayer, a U.S. Forest Service employee, and Fred Herring, an assistant, encountered a brown bear at close range while conducting a timber survey on southeast Admiralty Island. Thayer shot the bear while Herring retreated to a tree, but the wounded bear mauled Thayer, who died later that evening.
Percy Goodair, 52, male	September 12, 1929	Wild	Jasper National Park, Alberta	Goodair, a Parks Canada warden, was killed by a bear while patrolling the Tonquin Valley.
Joseph B. "Frenchy" Duret, 60, male	June 12, 1922	Wild	Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Montana	Duret was attacked and partially devoured by a huge grizzly. Duret crawled 1.5-mile (2.4 km) back towards his ranch and died in Frenchy Meadow on Slough Creek.

1910s

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Frank Welch, 61, male	September 8, 1916	Wild	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	Welch was killed at a camp near Sylvan Pass while carrying a load of hay and oats. Men from the camp killed the bear with a dynamite trap.
Alleged Bear attack	Unknown date prior to February 1914	Wild	Helena, Montana	On February 14, 1914, in the mountains at Jackson's creek 10 miles south of Helena, Montana, a prospector named Pierce reported he found the skeleton of a bear with a bullet wound in its skull along with the dead skeleton of a dog and faded bits of a woman's dress in the bushes; Pierce did not find a body of a woman but believed that the bear had been shot by a female berry picker after the bear had torn the woman's clothing and that the dog had attacked the wounded bear which had killed the dog. Pierce had been prevented for looking for any human remains by a recent snowfall. This story was reprinted in a longer version as "Woman Killed in Battle With Bear" by other newspapers.

1900s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Baby Laird, 1, ?	October 5, 1908	Captive	Tucson, Arizona	After a bear escaped from a cage at Elysian Grove Pleasure Park, Buss Laird ran with her infant child in a go-cart. The bear grabbed and killed the baby.
John Dicht, 18, male	November 24, 1906	Wild	Elk County, Pennsylvania	Thinking the bear was dead, Dicht began skinning it. The bear immediately awoke and tore off one of Dicht's arms, and then killed him.
Mary Porterfield, 3, female Willie Porterfield, 5, male Henry Porterfield, 7, male	May 19, 1901	Wild	Job, West Virginia	The children were gathering flowers near their home when they were attacked. A member of a search party found the remains of the children, and shot and killed the bear.

1890s

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Phillip Henry Vetter, 37, male	September 2, 1892	Wild	Near Greybull River, Wyoming	Vetter, a buffalo hunter, had stated to a fellow hunter a week before, that "he would be going out for some bear." A week later, another hunter seeking shelter from rain, investigated his cabin, which had been ransacked by a grizzly bear, and found Vetter dead in the cabin. A newspaper was found which had been written on in blood by Vetter before his death, describing his battle with a grizzly bear, and ending with the words "I'm dying." The hunter and another man, searched for signs of the bear, and found Vetter's hat, two empty rifle casings, and his rifle with a cartridge jammed in its chamber. Vetter was buried in Old Trail Town, Cody, Wyoming.

1880s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Frank Devereaux, 52, male	September 4, 1883	Wild	Cheboygan, Michigan	Devereaux and the bear's corpses were found in the woods. There were indications that the bear and man fought each other. Although the article does not mention the species of bear, it is assumed to be a black bear, as this is the only species native to Michigan.
John Robinson, ?, male	December 29, 1883	Wild	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	Robinson's dead body was found near train tracks. There was evidence of bear tracks and a "terrible struggle".
John Dennison, 82, male	June 1881	Wild	Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario	This was Ontario's first recorded fatal black bear attack. Dennison was inspecting his bear traps on Lake Opeongo, in what is now part of Algonquin Park. After discovering a bear caught in the trap a struggle between the two ensued, ending in both their deaths.

Grizzly bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
"Old Ike," ?, male	June 1886	Wild	Salmon River, Idaho	One of the most successful bear hunters, he killed over 100 grizzlies during the 1800s. In June 1886, he wounded a grizzly bear near the headwaters of the Salmon River, but not enough to cripple the animal. After pursuing it into a dense stand of trees, he was attacked by the bear and mauled, with the bear biting into his chest—crushing his entire chest with one bite. The bear was driven off by his companions.
Richard Wilson, ?, male	July 1885	Wild	Sedona, Arizona	A bear hunter, Wilson was hunting grizzly bears and shot one near Oak Creek, Arizona. He followed the bear into a thicket and was attacked. He tried to escape by climbing a tree, but the bear pulled him down and killed him.
Hyrum Conrad Naegle, 22, male	June 24, 1882	Wild	Colonia Pacheco, Chihuahua, Mexico	Hyrum and his brother shot and wounded a grizzly bear which they pursued, thinking it would soon expire. While brother George was repairing his gun, Hyrum went to shoot the bear but was mauled and killed when the bear crushed his skull. The bear was shot and killed by George with his repaired rifle.

1870s

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
William White Waddell, 57, male	1875	Wild	Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California	Waddell, a lumber mill owner, was killed near Waddell Creek in Santa Cruz County, California.

1860s

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Charles Henry Gates, 35, male	August 30, 1863	Wild	Cache County, Utah	Gates was hunting a grizzly bear that escaped from a trap and was mauled. In 2004, the descendants of Gates placed a new headstone at his gravesite.

1850s

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
John "Grizzly" Adams, 43, male	1855	Wild	Sierra Nevada, California	A professional trapper and trainer of wild animals, he was badly injured-dislodging his scalp and leaving a silver dollar hole in his head. He died in 1860 from complications of his scalp wound.
Andrew Whitley "Andy" Sublette, 46, male	December 19, 1853	Wild	Santa Monica, California	An experienced bear hunter who hunted and killed many bears, Sublette shot and wounded a bear after being separated from his hunting party near present-day Santa Monica in 1854. He was then mauled but stabbed the bear to death with his knife and with the help of his dog. His dog survived, but Sublette died seven days later owing to his injuries.
Isaac Slover, 68, male	October 27, 1854	Wild	Mount San Antonio, California	A trapper and hunter who hunted grizzly bears even in his old age, Slover shot and wounded one on Mount San Antonio near his cabin. The large wounded bear crawled into the brush, and Slover reloaded and followed, whereupon he was attacked. He died 3 days later.
Fielding Isaccs	1850	Wild	Rocky Mountains	Fielding was found with his skull crushed in a 1300lb grizzly's mouth with his knife broken in the grizzly's neck/shoulder and both deceased. Col. William Smith a.k.a. "Rebel Bill" wrote an autobiography and detailed the incident in that autobiography.

1830s

Brown bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
Peter Lebeck, male	October 17, 1837	Wild	Fort Tejon, California	Lebec was out hunting grizzlies. He dispatched one with a well-placed shot and, assuming it to be dead, approached it. However, the bear rallied and lunged, throwing him to the ground and breaking his neck. He was killed instantly, but the bear was later killed by Native American hunters.

1780s

Black bear

Name, age, sex	Date	Type	Location	Description
"Son of Mr. Leach," 8, male	August 1784	Wild	Moultonborough, New Hampshire	The child was sent to a pasture with a horse and was attacked by a three-year-old bear. Leach, on arrival finding the bear holding his son by the throat, struck the bear with a stake. The bear withdrew, dragging the boy with him. A search was mounted the next day, and the corpse of the boy was discovered partially devoured. The bear rose from behind a nearby log and was killed by three gunshots.

Maps

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Locations of fatal bear attacks in Canada
Gold: Wild brown bears
Black:Wild black bears
Green:Wild polar bears
Blue: Captive bears (all species)

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Locations of fatal bear attacks in the contiguous United States
Gold: Wild brown bears
Black: Wild black bears
Blue: Captive bears (all species, including polar bears)

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Locations of fatal bear attacks in Alaska
Gold: Wild brown bears
Black: Wild black bears
Green: Wild polar bears

See also

• Bear attacks
• Bear danger
• Binky (polar bear)
• Stephen Herrero
• 2011 Svalbard polar bear attack
• List of fatal bear attacks in Europe

Species

• List of fatal cougar attacks in North America
• List of fatal alligator attacks in the United States
• Coyote attacks on humans
• List of wolf attacks in North America
• Fatal dog attacks in the United States