I read the article to say it did work and repelled the bear, but only after the initial attack had resulted in wounds which were subsequently fatal.
I read the article to say that both people involved had bear spray and for a variety of reasons neither canister stopped the attack in time to prevent a fatality.
Since the guide lost his life I would say that both the spray and firearm that he carried for bear protection were ineffective in this situation. A true tragedy as either one was likely capable of creating a different outcome.
List of recent brown bear deaths.
Brown bear
Name, age, gender Date Type Location Description
Valérie Théorêt, 37, female
Adele Roesholt, 10 months, female November 26, 2018 Wild Einarson Lake, Yukon The mother and child were attacked near their cabin while on a trip to manage trapping lines. The child's father Gjermund Roesholt shot the bear dead.[20]
Anthony David Montoya, 18, male October 1, 2018 Wild Admiralty Island, Alaska Montoya was working at a remote mining site on Admiralty Island, Alaska, when he was killed by a sow brown bear and two cubs. All three bears were killed.[21]
Mark Uptain, 37, male September 14, 2018 Wild Teton Wilderness, Wyoming Uptain, a guide for Martin Outfitters, was cleaning an elk that he and his client Corey Chubon had shot when the bear attacked. The bear was a sow with a 1½-year-old male cub.[22] As the bear attacked Uptain, Chubon attempted to throw him his Glock pistol but Uptain failed to catch it. Chubon fled with injuries as the bear attacked Uptain. After staggering 50 yards (46 m) uphill from the dead elk, Uptain was killed by the mother and possibly by the cub as well. The bears were shot and killed by Wyoming Fish and Game officials.[23]
Mike Soltis, 44, male June 19, 2018 Wild Eagle River, Alaska Soltis was backpacking alone along the Eagle River. After failing to return a search party was dispatched, rangers found a grizzly bear sitting on Soltis's remains. The bear then attacked the search party badly mauling one searcher. The search party retreated from the area. The bear escaped before more searchers arrived.[24][25]
Brad Treat, 38, male June 29, 2016 Wild Flathead National Forest, Montana Treat and another man were on mountain bikes on U.S. Forest Service land near Halfmoon Lakes. According to the official Board of Review report on the incident, Treat's mountain bike collided at high speed with a large male grizzly bear "after rounding a blind curve in the trail." The bear immediately attacked Treat in response to being struck by the bicycle. The second rider escaped uninjured and summoned help. The bear was identified via DNA from a previous research project, but was not captured or killed because its behavior was a natural response to a surprise encounter involving physical contact.[26]
Lance Crosby, 63, male August 7, 2015 Wild Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Crosby, an employee at a medical clinic in the park, was reported missing when he did not report for work. A park ranger found his body in a popular off-trail area less than a mile (1 600 m) from Elephant Back Loop Trail, an area he was known to frequent. His body was partially consumed and covered. Puncture wounds on his arms indicated he had tried to defend himself. Based on the presence of a sow grizzly and a cub in the area, the sow was deemed responsible for the attack. The sow was captured and killed after it was found to be the bear that killed Crosby.[27][28] There were public appeals to not kill the sow, but the park superintendent decided there was a risk the sow might kill again; based on July 6, 2011 and August 24, 2011 killings in the park, where another sow was present at both those killings.[29]
Ken Novotny, 53, male September 17, 2014 Wild near Norman Wells, Northwest Territories While on a hunting trip near Norman Wells, Novotny was charged and struck by a bear. Friends reported Novotny had just killed a moose and was prepping his prize when the bear "came out of nowhere." He died on the scene. Authorities later found and killed the bear responsible for his death.[30]
Rick Cross, 54, male September 7, 2014 Wild Kananaskis Country, Alberta Cross, a hunter, was killed by a mother bear when he accidentally got between her and her cubs. Park rangers stated that it appeared that Cross managed to fire his rifle before being overwhelmed. RCMP said it appeared he wandered into the area where the mother and cub were feeding on a dead deer.[31]
Adam Thomas Stewart, 31, male September 4, 2014 Wild Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming Stewart was conducting research alone in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in northwest Wyoming near the SE corner of Yellowstone National Park. This is high density bear habitat and he was in Cub Creek. After he failed to return, a search found his body.[32] The coroner suspects it was a grizzly bear, but the species hasn't officially been determined. The pathologist noted premortem punctures to Stewart's skull, indicating the cause of death was from a bear attack. The FWS report says he was not carrying bear spray or a firearm.[33]
Richard White, 49, male August 24, 2012 Wild Denali National Park, Alaska White was backpacking alone along the Toklat River. After hikers found an abandoned backpack and torn clothing, rangers investigated and found a male grizzly bear sitting on White's remains. The bear was shot and killed by an Alaska State Trooper. A necropsy of the bear and photographs recovered from White's camera confirmed the attack.[34]
The photographs in White's camera showed that he was taking photos of the bear in a span of eight minutes from 50 yards (46 m) to 100 yards (91 m).[35] It was the first fatal bear attack recorded in Denali National Park.[34]
Tomas Puerta, 54, male October 2012 Wild Chichagof Island, Alaska After passers-by spotted an unattended skiff, they investigated and encountered a grizzly bear sow and two cubs. Alaska State troopers and Sitka Mountain rescue personnel then found evidence of a campsite and fire on the beach. There was evidence of a struggle, and upon following a trail of disturbed vegetation, they found Puerta's body, cached and partially eaten.[36]
John Wallace, 59, male August 24, 2011 Wild Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Wallace's remains were found by hikers on the Mary Mountain Trail, northeast of Old Faithful.[37] Wallace was hiking alone.[38] An autopsy showed that Wallace died from a bear attack.[38] According to a report released by Yellowstone rangers, park officials had attempted to give Wallace a lecture about bear safety, but he was not interested, calling himself a "grizzly bear expert".[39]
DNA evidence later determined that the same sow that killed Brian Matayoshi July 6, 2011 was in the vicinity of Wallace's corpse, though it was not proved that this bear killed Wallace. The bear was killed by park officials.[40] Evidence showed that Wallace was attacked after sitting down on a log to eat a snack and the attack was predatory, rather than defensive.[40][41]
Brian Matayoshi, 57, male July 6, 2011 Wild Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Matayoshi and his wife were hiking the Wapiti Lake Trail, and came upon a mother grizzly bear in an open meadow. The couple began to walk away, and the bear charged. After attempting to run away, Matayoshi was fatally bitten and clawed. Matayoshi's wife hid behind a tree, was lifted from the ground by the bear, and dropped. She played dead, and the bear left the area. She was not injured.[42][43]
An initial investigation by the National Park Service found the bear's actions were defensive against a perceived threat to her cubs. Since the attack was not predatory and the bear had no known violent history towards humans, no immediate action was taken towards the bear, the bear was later killed after it was found to be at the site of another fatal attack August 24, 2011.[40][42][43] A later investigation determined that the couple's running from the bear was a mistake, and the fatal attack was a "one in 3 million occurrence".[44]
Kevin Kammer, 48, male July 28, 2010 Wild Gallatin National Forest, Montana Kammer was in his tent at Soda Butte Campground when a mother bear attacked and dragged him 25 feet (7.6 m) away. Two other campers in separate campsites were also attacked: a teenager was bitten in the leg, and a woman was bitten in the arm and leg. The bear was caught in a trap set at the campground using pieces of a culvert and Kammer's tent.[45] Later, the bear was killed, and her cubs were sent to ZooMontana.[46] The mother bear's unusual predatory behavior was noted by authorities.[46]
Erwin Frank Evert, 70, male June 17, 2010 Wild Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming Evert, a field botanist, was mauled by a grizzly bear while hiking in the Kitty Creek Drainage area of the Shoshone National Forest, just east of Yellowstone National Park. The bear was trapped and tranquilized earlier in the day by a grizzly bear research team. Two days after the attack, the bear was shot and killed from a helicopter by wildlife officials.[47]
Initially it was reported that Evert ignored posted warnings to avoid the area due to the potential danger involved with the bear research.[47] However, the sheriff's deputy who recovered the body and members of Evert's family stated that the warning signs were no longer present.[48] A report released the following month confirmed that the warning signs were removed, though it also asserted that Evert knew there was a bear research study being conducted in the area.[49] Evert's wife filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government, which was dismissed by district court judge Nancy D. Freudenthal.[50][51]
