Family members have identified a couple dead in a bear attack in Canada's Banff National Park as long-term partners who enjoyed the outdoors.
Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse, both 62 years old, were both killed by a grizzly bear while backcountry camping on Friday.
According to officials, the bear that attacked them was a mature female with minimal body fat for the time of year. They added that two cans of bear spray were discovered at the site and that the couple's food was appropriately hung.
The couple was identified by their nephew, Colin Inglis, who told the sources that they were killed on the fifth day of a week-long backcountry excursion.
They were a couple who adored the outdoors and each other. Mr. Inglis remarked that they were highly, highly experienced in being in the backcountry, whether on strenuous excursions or whitewater canoeing in the North Country.
Doug and Jenny were high school sweethearts from Lethbridge, Alberta, a city about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Calgary, according to Mr. Inglis. They were trekking in the backcountry with their dog, who also perished in the attack.
The couple provided daily updates on their backcountry journey, according to Mr. Inglis.
The day of the attack, the couple said they did not reach their intended camping site, but they had discovered another site to set up. In the evening, they sent out a second alert. Mr. Inglis told the sources that the message read, "Bear attack, terrible."
Parks Canada reported receiving a similar alert from the couple at approximately 20:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Friday.
The Wildlife Human Attack Response Team was promptly dispatched, but they were unable to travel by helicopter due to inclement weather.
The response team reached at approximately 01:00 local time, according to officials. They discovered the couple deceased at the scene, as well as a grizzly bear "exhibiting aggressive behavior" nearby.
Parks Canada shot and killed the bear on-site to guarantee public safety. Officials reported on Tuesday that the couple was in a permitted area where there was no active bear warning.
A necropsy on the bear revealed that it was a non-lactating female over 25 years of age.
The condition of her dentition was poor, and the bear had less body fat than usual for this time of year. Parks Canada stated in their update that the incident occurred in a remote wilderness location with no witnesses.
According to officials, fatal bear assaults are extremely uncommon. Banff National Park has recorded three non-fatal "surprise" encounters with grizzly bears over the past decade.
The couple's demise is the first fatal attack by a grizzly bear in the park in decades, according to Parks Canada. However, it is the second in North America this year. In July, a grizzly bear fatally mauled a woman on a forest trail west of Yellowstone National Park.
As a result of the assault in Banff National Park, officials have restricted access to the area surrounding Red Deer and Panther valleys.
