A worker in a remote bush camp has walked away with minor injuries after an encounter with a female grizzly bear Thursday.
The incident happened at a fly-in mineral exploration camp near Wolf Lake about 60 kilometres north of Swift River in Canadas northwestern Yukon Territory.
Ryan Hennings, a Yukon government conservation officer, said a crew of two women observed a sow and two cubs almost three weeks earlier but theyd seen nothing since then until the incident late Thursday morning.
Hennings said it was a surprise encounter for both the woman and the bear, which began when she heard her dog bark to alert her.
The bear was about 20 yards away when it charged. She tried to pulled her backpack over her head for protection.
As she was pulling the backpack over her head, the bear swiped at her and caught her in the arm and shes got two large claw wounds, like deep scratches, in her arm and a third one in the back of her elbow, he said.
She was knocked to the ground. The bear kind of hoofed and hawed for a really brief second and then turned around and left.
The bear gathered her cubs and vanished.
Hennings said the workers partner was on an opposite slope and witnessed the brief encounter, before running to find help.
They called their employer via satellite phone. Company officials and conservation officers then flew in by helicopter.
The injured worker received treatment at Whitehorse General Hospital.
Hennings said theres no risk to the public and the bear will be left alone.