Canada Officials Put Down Four Grizzly Bears Responsible for Killing Mother and Daughter in B.C.

Four grizzly bears connected to the death of a Canadian mother and her daughter were put down, British Columbia officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The B.C.  Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) informed through social media that a DNA and forensic analysis conclusively confirmed the the four bears — a female grizzly bear and her three cubs — were involved in the attack that killed 48 year-old Jennifer Balcarras and her 20 year-old daughter Selah Reed earlier this month.

The four bears – who were following their natural predator instincts – were killed to protect the public, BCCOS pointed out.

Balcaras and Reed went missing on November 1 after they did not return from an afternoon walk. Their bodies are found between November 2-3 at a trail in Bella Coola, with evidence suggesting an animal attack. The discovery prompted prompting B.C. conservation officers to track down and capture the animals involved in the two deaths.

After the capture, and confirmation that the four bears were involved in the killing of the two women, all trapping equipment used in the response operation has been removed from the area, and the investigation into the attack is now deemed concluded by the BCCOS.

Further analysis will examine the response and circumstances that led to the attack.

“This was a heartbreaking event for the families, the Nuxalk Nation and the Bella Coola community. We hope the efforts of everyone who responded, along with these findings, bring some measure of closure,” Inspector. Jeff Tyre said in the statement. “Our thoughts remain with everyone affected. We ask that the families’ privacy be respected, in keeping with their wishes.”

Speaking in an online briefing, Inspector Tyre detailed the investigation found the attack “likely involved predatory behavior, which I can tell you is very rare.”

“That is to say, we don’t know how it started, but we know how it ended,” he said, noting that the complex investigation involved over a dozen conservation officers that took part int he response efforts over the past week.

Tyre stressed that bears involved in fatal attacks on people cannot be rehabilitated or relocated. Such behavior, the inspector emphasized, “presents an extreme risk to the public, and such bears are dispatched to protect the public and prevent similar attacks in the future.”

BCCOS noted that the four killed bears were unrelated to a separate November 2025 bear attack in British Columbia. At the time, a group of children and school teachers were attacked by bears on a walking trail, leaving eleven injured. According to Canadian outlets, the bear responsible for the November 20205 was never found.