Tuktoyaktuk (Aug 18/03) - A Tuktoyaktuk woman is lucky to be alive.

The woman was picking akpik berries at Gungi Creek -- five miles out of Tuktoyaktuk -- when she was attacked three times by the same grizzly bear.

"She was walking alone up a hill picking berries when she saw a bear. It stood up and when she noticed it, the bear charged at her and bit her," said Ian Ellsworth, acting manager for Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development (RWED).

Ellsworth said the woman had used her pail to hit the bear but the bear attacked a second time.

A rare occurrence

After the bear bit her a third time it took off and left her lying on the ground.

"She was a pretty brave lady," said Ellsworth.

The woman was taken to the Tuktoyaktuk health centre where her arm, leg and shoulder were stitched up. She was released the same evening, said Ellsworth.

Grizzly bear attacks are a rare occurrence in the Northwest Territories, said Ellsworth.

Ellsworth has worked as a resource officer out of Inuvik for three years. He said he's never heard of a bear attack like the one the Tuktoyaktuk woman went through.

Although an attack is rare, it never hurts to be prepared.

"You're in bear country and should always be aware of your surroundings," he warned.

Carry bear deterrent like a firearm and bear spray, make lots of noise and don't travel alone while picking berries.

In this case, the woman did the right thing.

Although she had separated from the group, she didn't run from the bear and she tried to defend herself, said Ellsworth.

"She must have done something right because she lived to tell about it."

Most bears won't attack a person.

But in this case the woman probably startled the bear which made the bear defensive, said Ellsworth.