The sister of a bow hunter who fought off a mother grizzly bear in Alberta with only a knife says her brother was an avid woodsman with years of experience in the bush.

Chris McLellan managed to kill the bear southwest of Grande Prairie last week when he apparently surprised it while she was with her three cubs.

Christa McLellan says her brother, who recently married and moved to Alberta from Nova Scotia on Aug. 12, had to have surgery to insert plates to repair his badly broken arm, but is otherwise fine.

One outfitter, who lives on land close to where the attack occurred, said he spotted the sow and her three cubs just days before the incident.

Dave Coleman, an outfitter for 44 years, commended McLellan for keeping his wits about him in such a desperate situation, noting the bear would likely have been fierce.

After chancing upon the bear and three cubs, McLellan stabbed the animal three times before getting away. The bear's body was found 30 metres away.