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Triathlete mauled by bear


Special from The Fort Nelson News

Fort Nelson, B.C. (June 17/05) - Julia Gerlach, a 27-year-old triathlete, underwent surgery Wednesday to repair damage from a bear attack 145 km north of Fort Nelson on May 20.

The attack came at 2:30 pm as Gerlach was conducting a regeneration survey on a forest reseeding area where the Liard and Nelson rivers meet.

Gerlach was working on her own and was carrying bear spray when a 200 lb adult male black bear attacked.

"There was no time to react," Doug Gillett, manager of Conservation Officer Services for the northern region, said from his office in Prince George.

Gerlach said in an interview with the Vancouver Sun that she used her bear spray in an effort to ward off the animal.

Her calls for help were heard by a colleague surveying about 400 metres away.

Several shots were fired before the bear left.

A survey crew with a helicopter took Gerlach to Fort Nelson where she treated and then medevaced to Edmonton for surgery.

She received severe damage to her scalp, ear, arms and thighs in the attack.

A keen triathlete, she won the 2002 Ironman Triathlon in the 18-to-24 age group in Penticton and participated at the World Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in the same year.

Fort Nelson conservation officers shot the bear.

"There doesn't seem to be anything unusual about this animal," Gillett said.

Keith Rande, chief conservation officer, Fort St. John, described the attack at Nelson Forks as predatory.

The attack on Gerlach was near Liard Hot Springs where a black bear attacked and killed two persons several years ago.

Five bear attacks have been reported in the Rocky Mountains since last week.