Door-to-door pickups, students restricted to grounds amid search for bear in B.C.

BELLA COOLA — Students were allowed back to school today in Bella Coola, B.C., where a bear attacked a group of students and teachers last week, but the kids couldn’t leave the grounds and the bus was doing door-to-door service.

The search continues for a mother grizzly bear with two cubs thought to be involved in the attack on a group of about 20 people from the school last Thursday that badly injured four.

A statement from Acwsalcta School, an independent school run by Nuxalk First Nation in Bella Coola, says it’s taking “additional steps and precautions” to ensure safety for all the students as it welcomes their return.

It says students should not be walking from 4 Mile, the area near the bear attack, and that students would be allowed to “play in a safe way” in the fenced areas on the school property, although secondary students wouldn’t be allowed to walk to the store at lunch.

The statement from school principal Brittany Hughes says they also “completely understand if students and families are not feeling ready for their children to come to school at this time.”

Conservation officers say two bears have been captured in their search for the attack culprits and DNA tests may be conducted on one of them to determine if it was involved in the attack.

The attack has set off requests for the B.C. government to bring back the trophy hunt for grizzlies, however Environment Minister Tamara Davidson says the hunt was never used as a population management tool.

“When the hunt was open, bears were not typically hunted in the same areas where conflicts were occurring,” she told the legislature on Tuesday.

Davidson said right now the focus is on keeping the community safe.

“And any time there’s a conflict with a bear, it’s a reminder that we share the outdoors with these wild animals.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2025.

The Canadian Press