Four grizzly bears killed after DNA links them to deadly attack in Canada

What investigators found

Canadian wildlife officials said on Tuesday, 10 November, that DNA tests tied four grizzly bears to the deaths of a 48-year-old mother and her 20-year-old daughter near Bella Coola, a remote community in British Columbia. The bears were a female and her three young. The two women had set out to walk a trail close to their home in early November, and their family raised the alarm when the daughter missed a regular call with her sister. Searchers found the mother's remains first, then the daughter's remains in a bear cache, a spot where bears store food, about 150 meters away. Inspector Jeff Tyre of the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service described the findings at an online briefing.

“Our investigation also found that this attack likely involved predatory behavior, which I can tell you is very rare.”

Officials have not explained what caused the behavior, and the investigation into the exact circumstances of the attack is still under way. Autumn is the season when grizzlies build fat reserves before hibernation, and they can be especially aggressive then.

Why the bears were killed

The four animals were first captured and later killed to protect the public, officials said. They added that bears involved in fatal attacks cannot be relocated or rehabilitated because they pose an extreme risk to people. Officials said the killings were carried out to rule out further danger to residents. The DNA work also showed that these bears took no part in the November 2025 attack on a school group in the same area.

A community under strain

The Nuxalk Nation, the Indigenous people of the region, is still recovering from last year's school attack, and the new deaths have compounded that trauma. Bella Coola has about 2,100 residents and sits in a landscape popular with hikers, kayakers and other outdoor visitors, while grizzlies also thrive in the surrounding forests. Local authorities imposed a voluntary curfew, and police escorted children to school. Tlhmtimut Samuel Schooner, the Nuxalk Nation's elected chief councilor, described the effect on residents.

“This attack has been deeply re-triggering for our community members as we continue to recover from last year's attack.”

Community support services will stay in place for as long as residents need them.

The earlier attack

In November 2025, a bear attacked a group of about 20 elementary school students and teachers in the same area, injuring eleven people, two of them critically. That bear has never been found, despite an extensive search. DNA testing showed the four bears killed in the current case were not involved in that attack. The two cases therefore involved different bears, according to the DNA results.