Bear snares set in wake of mauling death

Snares have been set in British Columbia to capture a bear officials believe attacked and killed a man as he was walking back to a camp.

The body of 60-year-old Arthur Louie was found on Thursday, several hours after his truck was found on a service road about 100 kilometres southeast of Prince George.

Senior conservation officer Bob Coyle suspects that Louie surprised a grizzly bear sow and was dragged off into the bush. Two cubs were seen on the road about 400 metres away by a helicopter.

"We are still currently investigating whether it was predatory or defensive," he said. "We do have some snares set in the area, so in the event that the bears come back we can capture them."

The incident occurred about two-and-a-half weeks after a grizzly attack near Burns Lake. That attack sent 13-year-old Christopher Solecki to B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

"Certainly, there are bear attacks because this is bear country," Coyle said. "But we're not starting to worry that this is abnormal behaviour or anything like that."