B.C. man dies three weeks after fighting off grizzly bear

KELOWNA — A British Columbia man who fought off a grizzly bear in the East Kootenay region this month has died of his injuries, more than three weeks after the attack.

Joe Pendry’s wife, Janice Pendry, says he died on Saturday morning, from what doctors believed was a blood clot.

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She says her husband had recently been able to walk in Kelowna General Hospital, and was “laughing and joking” the night before before his death.

She previously described how her husband, 63, initially survived the Oct. 2 attack that took place near Fort Steele, northeast of Cranbrook, while he was hunting elk.

She had said that Pendry, a former boxer, had punched and even bitten the bear after it charged him and he shot it in the leg.

The bear was driven off and the BC Conservation Officer Service said it was later found dead.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2025.

The Canadian Press