A harrowing final message sent by a couple just moments before they were mauled to death by a grizzly bear has been revealed by devastated family members.
In their final moments, Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse, both 62, emptied an entire bottle of bear spray as they were mauled by the massive bear while out with their dog in Banff National Park in Canada.
All three were horrifically killed. The couple, who were seasoned backcountry campers, sent an alarming message at around 8pm on Friday to Doug’s uncle, Colin Inglis, which said “bear attack bad.”
Parks Canada was made aware of the alert straight away but they were unable to send a helicopter due to hazardous weather. However, when they eventually arrived at 1am, they tragically found Doug, Jenny, and their Border Collie, Tris, lying dead next to two empty cans of bear spray.
The grizzly old female bear, who was discovered nearby, was shot dead after charging at park officials. Banff National Park, which attracts more than four million tourists every year, is home to both grizzly and black bears. Heartbroken Colin told CBC the couple were simply “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, he said: “That night was a start, obviously, of what’s continuing to be a grieving process. You have that notification, you know that something bad is happening. You don’t have a lot of information.”
Colin said he was informed that the couple had tried to scare off the bear, according to signs left at the site. He was told that a bear spray canister had been fully emptied. Officials at the parks report the couple had hung their food in the appropriate manner so as to not attract bears, and two cans of bear spray were found at the scene.
Colin added: “There was a struggle and the struggle didn’t stay in one place. But, in the end, both bodies were back together.”
Colin paid tribute to the pair, who loved being in the outdoors and had a real passion for adventure. The couple met at university and studied to be scientists before working together at the same lab for Agriculture Canada. He added: “I was hiking in Waterton with Doug in June and we were looking forward to many more adventures. As were lots of his friends.
“One of his friends told me one of the things they were looking forward to was taking their son out with Doug because he was so knowledgeable. And Jenny, she was the botanist. She could identify all these wonderful plants that were out there, this berry or this flower. And so that’s the kind of love they had for the environment that they were out in.”
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This article by Liam Buckler was first published by The Mirror on 6 October 2023. Lead Image: The couple used a full can of bear spray as they fought for their lives (Image: ron teather).
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