It has been confirmed by DNA samples that the grizzly bear that attacked a hunter in the Madden area on Sunday, leaving the man with serious and traumatic but non-life-threatening injuries, is the same bear that killed a University of Calgary business school professor in 2021.
David Lertzman, a 59-year-old senior instructor at the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business, was attacked by a grizzly bear while he was trail running near his home in Waiparous Village, just north of Rocky View County (RVC), in early May of 2021. Lertzman's wife Sarah confirmed in a Facebook post that her husband was attacked from behind by the bear and pushed over a 300-metre embankment.
“[David] was attacked by a bear from behind and pushed off a very high embankment and was found near the river,” Sarah Lertzman said in a Facebook post dated May 6, 2021. “The wounds were consistent with an instantaneous death, so he suffered very little. This was important for me to know.”
Sarah said that after her husband did not return from trail running she went out to look for him for two hours, and walked right past the point in the trail where he was attacked, but saw no signs of it.
“I was looking for a man in trouble and not for a scene of something that had happened,” her Facebook post reads. “By three in the morning, we knew he was no longer with us and that it had been a bear attack.”
A May 2021 story in the Rocky Mountain Outlook said the staff and Lertzman's friends at the Haskayne School of Business were shocked and saddened to learn of his death.
“David was a friend to all, and a brother to many,” said Dr. Jim Dewald, the former dean of the Haskayne School of Business, in a release published at the time. “David was a valued senior instructor who had worked with Haskayne since 2000, but truly he was so much more. He was our spiritual leader, our Indigenous connection and our sustainability hero.”
Since 2004, David led the wilderness retreat, a week-long leadership immersive experience in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains that was transformational for many Haskayne School of Business students.
After the attack that killed Lertzman, law enforcement officials conducted a search of the area to find the bear responsible, but no additional sightings were made and officials would not comment at the time on the status of the bear.
On the evening of August 4, an aggressive bear warning was issued for the Madden area, imploring residents to exercise caution when outside and to carry bear deterrents. Alberta Fish and Wildlife's investigation into the grizzly attack is ongoing and the search for the bear that is responsible for two attacks, including a death, is in full swing.
--With files from Cathy Ellis of Rocky Mountain Outlook.
