POLAR BEARS ATTACKS IN CANADA

Arthur Hemings drawings of people of Northern Canada (1893)

In August 2024, two polar bears killed a worker at a remote Arctic radar station in Canada's northern Nunavut territory. The BBC reported: The employee was working for Nasittuq Corporation — a logistics company which operates radar defence sites on behalf of the Canadian government. Other workers responded to the scene and killed one of the bears, the company said in a statement. [Source: Max Matza, BBC, August 14, 2024]

The attack took place last week on Brevoort Island, southeast of Baffin Island. The site is one of dozens of North Warning System outposts in northern Canada, according to CBS News. The network, which spans 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers), exists to detect aircraft or missiles entering the region. There are about 17,000 polar bears living in Canada — making up around two-thirds of the global population of the species, according to the Canadian government.

In April 2025, a polar bear attacked a skier in Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island. The skier was injured but all right. Authorities later shot the bear. Many people were angry they shot the bear. One woman posted on Explorer’s Web: “It amazes me how people can be so lacking in common sense. You are trespassing on the polar bear’s home, yet you blame them when you’re attacked… If you stay away from them in the first place, you would not be attacked. It’s simple, stay out of their habitat.” “Why would anyone kill the bear??” said Andrew. “He’s living in his habitat, and people are invading it. Terrible!!!” [Source: Jerry Kobalenko, Explorers Web, April 30, 2025]

Others took issue with Parks Canada’s rule, mentioned in the Nunatsiaq News. that non-Inuit are not allowed to carry firearms in Arctic national parks. “This is wrong in so many ways,” said one. “Baffin Island is not Banff. This polar bear attack is 100 percent the fault of Parks Canada and their crazy rules.” “I completely agree,” said another. “They should be held liable for any polar bear attacks. It’s crazy to think that in Svalbard, they don’t allow people to step into polar bear territory without a gun, and here they’re forcing hikers to expose themselves to danger by not carrying one.”

Man 'Leapt' onto a Polar Bear to Protect His Wife and Other Attack in Canada

In December 2024, a man “leapt” onto a polar bear when it lunged at his wife in the Fort Severn First Nation, in the far northern section of Ontario, the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service said in a statement.. The man was seriously injured but recovered. A neighbor fatally shot the bear during the incident. [Source: Tim Stelloh, NBC News, December 6, 2024, 7:56 AM GMT+9

According to NBC News: The couple encountered the bear at 5 a.m. when they left their home to find their dogs, and the animal lunged at the woman, according to the statement. Her husband jumped on the animal to protect his wife, who fell to the ground, the police service said. He had serious but non-life-threatening injuries to his arms and legs. After the neighbor shot the animal, it retreated to a wooded area and died from its injuries, police said.

Polar Bear Breaks into Homes in Newfoundland

a bear devours a man (1900)

In March 2012, a polar bear killed a sheep, a lamb and a couple of dogs at a nearby farm, and broke windows at several other homes in Goose Cove, a tiny hamlet on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. Allison Cross wrote in the Ottawa Citizen, “A tiny Newfoundland community was roused from its sleep early in the morning when a male polar bear began a rampage, breaking into a home and attacking farm animals. Daniel Reardon said his cousin Louis, who lives nearby, was awoken at 4 a.m. by his son, who was screaming that there was a polar bear in the kitchen of their Goose Cove home. Louis fired his shotgun several times above the bear’s head, Daniel said, which scared the animal off. Louis’ other son and daughter, and her young children, were also asleep inside the home. [Source: Allison Cross, Ottowa Citizen, March 29, 2012]

“This was a rogue bear. He was looking for trouble,” Daniel told the National Post. “He didn’t even bother to stop to eat. It was a dangerous situation.” Daniel said he carried a firearm while the bear was still on the loose. Police received the call about the bear at about 4:30 a.m. and promptly informed provincial conservation officers, said Sgt. Marc Coulombe of the Newfoundland RCMP. Conservation officers made the decision to kill the bear, Sgt. Coulombe said. “We’ve had polar bears pass through the community but they never bothered anybody,” Daniel said. “We’ve never had trouble like this before.”

Tourist Fends Off Attacking Polar Bear with a Pocket Knife

In July 2001, tourists were attacked by a polar bear in Iqaluit, Nunavut on Baffin Island in northern Canada. The tourists were jarred from their sleep around 3 a.m. when the bear smacked their tent, according to the local hunters and trappers association. The campers said they fought the animal off with a pocket knife, and then ran to an police detachment for help.

The CBC reported: “Some tourists hurt in a polar bear attack in Nunavut think the injuries could have been avoided if wildlife officers had warned them the animal was in the area. Early in the day, a polar bear clawed through two tents in the Katannilik Territorial Park Reserve, frightening the campers inside. A woman and man inside screamed, prompting the bear to run to a second tent where two friends were sleeping.” [Source: CBC, July 29, 2001]

“As the animal began attacking the second couple, the man in the first tent grabbed a small pocket knife and ran towards them. "I had a knife, so I started to stab the bear under his lower jaw," recalled Eric Fortier. The blade was only about eight centimetres. "It seemed to have worked. He went away after that. When you see your friends getting hurt you have to do something."

“Two people remain in hospital in Iqaluit, about 100 kilometres from the camp site. Alain Parenteau, 31, has injuries to his head, neck, and side. Patricia Doyon, 25, has more than half a dozen gashes to her back and leg. "When the bear pushed me to the ground, I was just thinking that it's not possible, that it cannot end like this," Doyon told CBC Radio from her hospital bed. Both are expected to be OK, according to doctors, although Parenteau narrowly missed having a jugular vein cut.

The four tourists, all from Quebec, had been on a canoeing trip in the North. Wildlife officials said it's unusual for a polar bear to be this far inland in July. Fortier is relieved that everyone survived, but he wonders whether the traumatic event could have been avoided. He was told that another group of tourists had warned wildlife officers about the polar bear, and thinks everybody in the region should have been alerted. "We were registered with the Katannalik Park. They knew we were out there," Fortier said. "Obviously we were at the wrong place at the wrong time. But I think it would have been possible to have some type of warning about bear sightings."

Authorities said they did patrol the area after the initial report of a polar bear, but didn't find the animal. The park remained closed as wildlife officers continued to track the wounded bear. People who live in nearby Kimmirut have been warned not to wander outside their community. Last weekend, guides shot and killed a polar bear in northern Labrador after it tried to enter a tent full of tourists from Europe.

Polar Bear Attack of Matt Dyer in Labrador

In July 2013, Matt Dyer, a lawyer and naturalist from Maine, was attacked by a polar bear in Torngat Mountains National Park in the northernmost part of Newfoundland and Labrador According to the Sierra Club: Dyer went to sleep with bears on his mind. He had seen one on the hills above camp. The way the tents were clustered together, with an electric, bear-deterring fence surrounding them, was a constant reminder that humans could easily become prey.

Rich Gross and other trip leader, Marta Chase, had purchased two electric fences for the trip. One to fix around their camping setup and one for their food, about a quarter mile away. Gross told Backpacker: We talked to Parks Canada about what to do to be safe, how to be safe from polar bears. And so we did a number of things. We always carried flare guns. We prepared for, for what to do if we had a polar bear encounter and we carried bear spray, and we also brought an electric fence with us, which was supposed to protect us from from polar bears...One of the participants went out to pee and at four o’clock in the morning and he saw a mother and a cub walking on the beach, that was a few hundred yards away from us....Mom was pretty skinny. So we were a little concerned that she didn’t have much food.

Matt Dyer: We hooked that fence up and, uh. Again, I had no experience with these things. The fence ran off a couple of double D batteries, like you put in a flashlight. So I got to tell you, I was like, I don’t know about that. But everyone said, you know, the outfitter guy said if we touched it, it would blow us out of our hiking boots. So none of us touch it.[Source: Louisa Albanese and Zoe Gates, Backpacker, Aug 23, 2024]

Next morning, early waking up. And one of the guys says, look says, polar bear. So I got up and looked and there was a polar a mother bear with a cub and she was coming down the beach right near the water. And it was just great, you know? Oh my gosh, first morning here there’s a polar bear. Um, and she didn’t pay any attention to us. Just kept going.

We got day packs and packed up lunches and so on and so forth. Snacks. And, uh, went for a hike, you know, around beautiful countryside. I just, just absolutely stunning. And when we got done, we had to cross a little stream coming back to our camp and we were sitting there taking our boots off. Cause you know, like you don’t want to get a wet if you don’t have to, you know, small enough stream, just tampered across. And while we’re getting [00:08:00] sitting there, I look up. And there’s a great big polar bear like staring at us. A big one.

I’ve seen black bears. I, at that time, I had never seen a grizzly bear, but you know, but this, this, this guy was a bruiser—just bigger than a black bear around here. I can tell you that. So he sat there and watched us. We, we ate our dinner and he was still there and we had to get sleep. Got in behind that fence. And, uh, he sat there and watched us. I sat up for a long time because I was nervous, but then, you know, whatever, we decided, that’s what the fence is for. And we went to bed and went to sleep. And I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and the bear was gone.

Rich Gross: We did what we’re supposed to do when we see a bear. We gathered together, we made noise, we shouted and that didn’t happen. I pulled out the flare gun and shot a flare at it and it ran away. It ran away about, I dunno, half a mile away up on a ridge and just slept for a long time. So it made us nervous, but it seemed to act the way we expected it to act.

Polar Bear Attacks Matt Dyer in His Tent at 2:30am

That night Dyer woke up around 2:30 and saw a silhouette of a bear on his tent wall. He yelled, "Bear in the camp!" And then the bear dragged him. It was biting his head through the tent, and he covered his head with his hands, but it kept mouthing him, crushing his left hand almost completely and tossing him around like a doll. His head was in its maw, his body now scooped in its arms. He could feel its fur on the other side of the tent fabric. It was tugging on his skull, trying to separate him from the loose outer layer of nylon skin. Tug. Tug. Tug. [Source: Sierra Club]

The bear flew backward and Dyer with it. They hit the ground as one. He felt a sudden sharp pressure in his chest—his lung collapsing. His jaw cracked in the bear's jaw. And now it had him clean by the head and was galloping toward the beach. The land went by. His eyes were fixed toward the bear's rolling abdomen, a convexity of wet, creamy fur. It's taking me into the water, he thought. That's what it would do with a seal. It wants to get me away from those people. The bear was exerting itself tremendously now. It huffed hot exhales that flowed over Dyer's nose and ears. The stench of dead fish felt thicker with each of its breaths.

A bone cracked in his skull or neck. There was no pain. None at all. It seemed fitting that he'd go out as a piece of ocean meat. The bear huffed harder. He could feel it struggling with him—an oversize, bony seal. They were still moving toward the beach. A wave of cool air came off the water. They were getting closer. Then a flash screamed through the navy blue night and he fell to the sandy grass. Muted voices came from far away. Where'd it go? He couldn't move. He couldn't turn to look. There were giant footsteps somewhere off behind him. He was covered in a clear, gelatinous, fishy-smelling goop. It was gobbed in his hair and streaking the length of both arms. Saliva. The footsteps got quieter, then louder. Somewhere at the edge of his vision, another flash lit the sky. The footsteps went silent. [Source: Louisa Albanese and Zoe Gates, Backpacker, Aug 23, 2024]

Matt Dyer told Backpacker: it started to rain and sleet. It was foul weather. But about 2:30, something woke me up. And I was sleeping on my back and I look up, and I see the shadow come over the top of my tent and it was two big bear legs. And I knew what that was. So I started to holler. And he or she just came down top of that tent, just bam. You wouldn’t have believed it. And just started pawing on me, pawing, pawing.

He was trying to get his mouth on me. And I was covering my head with my hands. That’s what he was going for. And by God, he finally got me. He got my head in his jaws and started to munch on them. And then I think he kinda stood up. Of course, you know, you don’t know what’s going on, uh, other than, and I’m screaming and hollering. And he just ripped me right through the side of the tent. What I say was like a coming like a cork out of a champagne bottle. Boom! And I hit the ground. And I felt like just, you know, just my lungs when, and he started running. He had me by my head running and I was getting dragged along. The breath, you would not believe the smell of that bear’s breath.I could feel the bones cracking in my neck and skull, where he was. And he’s dragging me...Llike a voice came to me and said, you know, you’re going to die. And my other voice said, yeah, I know.

Driving off the Polar Bear That Attacked Matt Dyer

Rich Gross told Backpacker: We were all asleep. I woke up to Matt screaming and Marta screaming my name. I quickly got out of my tent I keep the flare gun loaded and cocked in my boot right at the front of my tent. And so I, as soon as I got out, I ran out with the gun in my long underwear. And what we could see was the bear was dragging Matt away from the electric fence. The bear had clearly gone right through the fence. I aimed the gun at the ground in front of the bear. The bear ran away, about maybe 50 yards away and then turned around and started to come back. And so, uh, I shot another flare. At the bear, at the ground, and these are double flares. So they not only exploded when we come out of the gun. When they land they explode again.

Matt Dyer said: I heard a swoosh. And a flash, and a flare went over. That Rich had shot off a flare and by God that bear dropped me and went. And then, then I could hear them scream and everything. I tried to get up or something, but I was broken. I couldn’t do shit, just lying there. Uh, tried to move. Then I hear the bear coming back here. Uh, you know, like beach rocks. You would hear him coming back and they were screaming, and Rich shot him. Another flare shot up. ...God, don’t come back, bear. Don’t come back.

Gross said: I realized we had to go get Matt because he wasn’t moving. So I went out with one other person to check on him, which was a very scary thing because we had no idea—it was dark and we didn’t know where the bear was...So we went out and we couldn’t, two of us couldn’t pull him back. So I pulled in two other people from the group and we pulled him back into the tent.

Matt Dyer: They came up they got me. I think I thought it I was dead for sure. Now that fence was toast, it was just, it was well, they told me I didn’t, I wasn’t at that point, I was just, you know, just a piece of meat. I was so relieved. I mean, at that point, when you, when you basically have given up. And then you’re not dead. Well, that’s a very good thing.

Rescue of Matt Dyer After the Polar Bear Attack

Rick Isenberg, a trip participant from Scottsdale, Arizona, who happened to be a physician, tended to Dyer's wounds. There were punctures from the bear's teeth up and down his arms and on his head and neck. Marilyn Frankel, an exercise physiologist from Oregon, stood guard on a rock, her hand wrapped around the cocked flare gun, her body rotating slowly in the darkness. After an hour, Isenberg declared Dyer stable, and at 8 a.m., a helicopter came and lifted Dyer and Isenberg away. The rest of the group waited almost eight more hours before a boat picked them up.” [Source: Sierra Club]

Matt Dyer: Here we are in the middle of nowhere. You’ve got a guy who’s just been mauled by a bear. And they had a satellite phone and I could hear Marta trying to hail someone up on that satellite phone for help... They got a tent around me, cause you know, it’s still cold up there in July. I laid there. I’m not going to say six or seven hours.

Rich Gross: We did not plan for a polar bear attack, but we knew what to do when that happened. As it turned out, you know, getting, getting a rescue was much more difficult than we expected. We had a number of numbers of people that had, uh, of organizations. RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, um, and the parks service, Parks Canada, um, both had helicopters. And then there was a thing called Base Camp, which was also had a helicopter. So we called a number of places and because it was the middle of the night, it was difficult to get ahold of people that could actually get the helicopter off the ground. And we finally got through with somebody at around 6:00 AM I think, so four or five hours after the attack, um, and said they’d try to get a helicopter to us, um, to get Matt out of there.

When we pulled Matt back, we had the best group of people, maybe that I’ve ever had in a trip. Nobody panicked. Nobody freaked out. Everybody took on responsibilities. So we set up, we had two flare guns, so we set up a watch with two people, always looking around camp. At that point we had no fence. Trying to see if the bear was coming near with the flare guns. And the other issue was getting all of us out of there. Cause we had to be evacuated as well. So helicopter came around 8:30 in the morning [00:16:00] with a bear guard that had a rifle and a medic that could take care of Matt.

And so they helicoptered him and the doctor on the trip out of the, out of the area. And then we were there and then the weather socked in. They tried to send a speedboat to us and they tried to send helicopters to us and really couldn’t get us out. So we actually ended up waiting for about nine hours—more than that—12 hours for a fishing boat to come and get us. A fishing boat that was going nine knots and an hour to come and get us from it from a town nearby—not so nearby, there’s no towns nearby —the town that was closest. We were most scared of ending up there at night. Again, we knew the bear was still around us and we were most afraid of another attack.

Matt Dyer: Eventually I woke up, I was in a hospital down in Montreal and, and there was my wife looking at me. Um, and, uh, holy shit, that was quite a relief. It really was.

According to Backpacker: The bear had cracked several vertebra in Matt’s neck, severed his carotid artery, and cracked his jaw. Its teeth had punctured clean through his hand and opened several wounds on his skull that would sustain nasty infections. He had a collapsed lung, a collection of puncture wounds, and a busted larynx that left him unable to speak for several weeks. But he was alive.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated June 2025