Yukon woman attacked by bear speaks out

Vanessa Leegstra is still recovering from a bear attack on June 30 in Haines Junction, Yukon.

From the hospital she said she was still in a lot of pain.

Leegstra was jogging with her dog near the Pine Lake campground around 10 p.m. that day when she spotted a group of bears.

“I tried to make room for them before my dog ​​noticed, but she either saw them or smelled them … and ran toward them,” she said.

Leegstra’s dog was on a leash, but when he saw the bears, he broke free and chased away two female bears.

“Because they are in the heat, they are extremely aggressive and defend their territory. When my dog ​​chased the females away, it triggered a territorial aggression with which he wanted to protect his females, his sows,” she said.

The male grizzly charged at her. Leegstra remembers that she didn’t run away, didn’t scream, and quickly tried to put a tree between herself and the approaching bear.

“He attacked me just before, right in front of the tree,” she said. “He grabbed my head and wrapped his paws around me. And I just remember the claws digging into my back… I could feel him biting my arm and my head.”

“My only thought was, ‘I have to get away from this bear. I have to do this for my husband and my daughter.'”

Leegstra’s daughter is two years old.

Leegstra believes she is only alive because she happened to be wearing a large plastic hair clip that day. She says the bear couldn’t get a proper grip on her head, and when it bit down, the clip shattered and injured the bear’s mouth.

“It let go for a moment because it didn’t like it,” she said.

Leegstra quickly hid behind a tree. When she looked up, the bear attacked her again.

“He stopped right in front of (the tree) and hit the ground,” she said.

Narrow escape

At this point, the bear was distracted by the barking of Leegstra’s dog, which gave her time to walk out to the highway and call her husband and 911.

David Leegstra said he had a strange intuition that something was going to happen before Vanessa left that night and kept his phone nearby at all times.

“You immediately go into shock,” he said. “I tried to keep her on the phone, asking her where she was on the highway, if she was losing a lot of blood, while I ran through the house and got my keys and things.”

He jumped in his car and raced to her, calling a conservation officer on the way.

The Pine Lake campground was evacuated and closed shortly thereafter.

“You know, she’s standing there with her dog, covered in blood and everything,” he said. “From ten feet away, all I could smell was the grizzly. During the rutting season, there’s a lot of testosterone involved… it’s a really strong smell.”

Leegstra had cuts on the back of his head and across his body, a torn off ear, a broken arm and several bite wounds.

“One of the bites was extremely deep,” said David Leegsta. “But she is extremely, extremely tough, the toughest person I’ve ever met, and I’m not just saying that because she’s my wife.”

Vanessa Leegstra was born and raised in Watson Lake and knows the wildlife and behavior in the Yukon.

“My father raised us in the bush, so I was very aware of bears and their power, especially during mating season,” she said. “The chance of me surviving a bear rut is one in a million… it’s incredible that I survived.”

After her recovery, she wants to use her story to try to educate people so that they know what to do if they ever find themselves in the same situation again.

The community of Haines Junction and many others across the Yukon have rallied around the young family following the incident.

“We are completely overwhelmed and grateful, the support has been incredible,” said David Leegstra. “The love and support from everyone is really helping us through this time.”

In a July 2 statement from Yukon Conservation Officer Services, a spokesperson wrote that responding officers euthanized a bear that had been at the scene of the attack. Three other bears matching Leegstra’s description were found and two more were euthanized. Efforts to find the fourth bear are ongoing.

“We recognize public concern regarding the euthanasia of bears following a defensive attack,” the statement said. “In such circumstances, critical decisions are made in the interest of public safety and staff safety.”

Leegstra says she bears no ill will toward the bear that attacked her.

“I had a lot of respect for grizzly bears before and I have even more respect for them now,” she said. “I don’t blame the bear, myself or my dog. It was just the wrong place at the wrong time.”