A grizzly bear attacked and killed two people in Banff National Park west of Sundre, Alta., on Friday night, Parks Canada says.

The people who died were common-law partners, according to a family member of one of the deceased whose name CBC News is choosing to keep confidential until all members of the family have been notified. The couple’s dog, who was with them at the time, was also killed.

“They were long-term partners who loved the outdoors and were inseparable,” read a statement from the family member.

“They lived for being in the backcountry and were two of the most cautious people I know. They knew bear protocol and followed it to a tee.”

  • @[email protected]English
    14•1 year ago

    Parks Canada received an alert from a GPS device in the Red Deer River Valley west of Ya Ha Tinda Ranch at about 8 p.m. on Friday indicating a bear attack

    How does this work? Or is it just another way of saying that someone used a phone with GPS enabled?

    • @[email protected]English
      23•1 year ago

      Many personal trackers and hiking devices have an SOS button that sends out your position in case of emergency.

    • @[email protected]English
      14•1 year ago

      I have a Garmin InReach that uses GPS and Iridium satellites to relay text messages. Popular devices for outdoor activities.

      • KaleEnglish
        3•1 year ago

        I have one. You can create a pre-text that includes GPS coordinates and send it with a couple of clicks, you can type out a text message but it takes a while, or there’s a switch on the side that’s SOS. Flip it anywhere in the world, and Garmin/Iridium is going to contact emergency services wherever the signal is coming from.

    • @notatoadEnglish
      6•1 year ago

      It says further down the article that it was a garmin inreach, Which is a GPS device that can send short messages over the iridium satellite network.

    • @grabyourmotherskeysEnglish
      3•1 year ago

      I have no idea and was wondering the same thing.

      Some bears will have a GPS tracker on them. Maybe they got a distress call and colocated out with a bear that had a GPS locator?

      I guess you could have a dedicated “press if you see a bear” device but I’ve never heard of it (which doesn’t mean much, really).

      • @[email protected]English
        5•1 year ago

        It was likely a handheld gps device for hiking, they usually have SOS buttons that will alert authorities and send location data