Four grizzly bears have been killed in Canada after DNA tests confirmed their involvement in a fatal attack on a mother and her daughter in British Columbia.
The victims, Jennifer Balcarras, 48, and her daughter, Selah Reed, 20, died after going for an afternoon walk near Bella Coola earlier this month.
The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service (BCCOS) confirmed the findings following a forensic investigation into their deaths.
Investigators linked a female grizzly bear, known as a sow, and her three cubs to the attack.
BCCOS Inspector Jeff Tyre said authorities destroyed all four animals under provincial human-wildlife conflict response guidelines to protect public safety.
DNA Tests Identify Four Bears Responsible
Tyre said investigators analysed animal DNA recovered during the investigation and conclusively linked the four bears to the fatal attack.
He described the incident as one that likely involved predatory behaviour, which he said was very rare.
The investigation involved more than a dozen conservation officers. They worked through difficult terrain and weather conditions to establish what happened.
Tyre said the findings confirmed that the sow and her three offspring were responsible for the deaths.
Mother and Daughter Were Described as Inseparable
Balcarras and Reed reportedly shared a close relationship and enjoyed many of the same hobbies.
The victims’ family described them as extremely close, with Balcarras’s brother, Josh, telling CBC that they got along very well.
“When Jenny hiked, Selah was right there beside her,” he said.
Their deaths have deeply affected relatives and residents of Bella Coola, a remote community in British Columbia.
Bears Not Linked to Previous School Attack
The conservation service also confirmed that the four bears were not involved in a separate attack on a school group in the same area in November 2025.
That incident left 11 people injured, including two who sustained critical injuries.
Authorities never found the bear responsible for that earlier attack.
The clarification is significant because the community was already recovering from the previous incident when the latest tragedy occurred.
Local Community Thanks Conservation Officers
Samuel Schooner, elected chief of the Nuxalk Nation, thanked the conservation officers for their work in resolving the investigation.
He said the latest attack had reopened painful memories for residents still recovering from the 2025 incident.
Schooner also expressed sympathy for the victims’ relatives and confirmed that community support services would remain available.
The latest findings bring an important development in the investigation, although the incident has renewed concerns about human-wildlife encounters in the region.
British Columbia is estimated to have between 10,000 and 13,000 grizzly bears, according to figures cited by the BBC.
