Man Who Tried To Fight Grizzly Bear In Banff National Park Fined $4,000

Thomas Murray O'Neill

A moron has been handed a $4,000 fine after trying to fight a grizzly bear minding its own business.

The incident unfolded in Banff National Park, 2015. A couple of photographers were peacefully observing the lone grazing grizzly on Highway 93.

Then came Devin Mitsuing, emerging from his truck shirtless and proceeding to shout and throw rocks at the bear.

Thomas Murray O'Neill

The photographer said this lasted for around 10 minutes, before Mitsuing took a boxing stance and charged at the animal – startling it to run back into a bush.

The case finally came to trial in the Canmore Provincial Courthouse last Friday (September 13) with Judge George Gaschler finding the Saskatchewan man guilty and imposing a $4,000 fine.

As reported by RMO Today, Judge Gaschler said:

It is abundantly clear this is a disturbance of a grizzly bear and I find [Mitsuing] guilty.

Mitsuing was absent from the morning trial after nipping out to grab some food before the doors opened – though he returned afterwards and handed himself in to the police.

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Thomas Murray ONeill, a British Columbia photographer, told the court he had been taking pictures of the bear on the Icefields Parkway near Peyto Lake for approximately an hour on June 5, 2015, when the red truck with a Saskatchewan licence plate pulled up.

ONeill explained:

We were on the other side of the highway when a truck pulled up and two gentlemen got out, started yelling at the bear and throwing rocks… then he took off his shirt and got in a boxing stance.

While the photographer couldnt quite make out what was being shouted, he was certain it was a grizzly bear – after 40 years of taking pictures of the animals and other wildlife.

ONeill called the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), believing Mitsuing to be drunk at the time.

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Park Warden Paul Friesen told the court he was working in Kootenay National Park when he was contacted about a man harassing a grizzly bear in Banff National Park.

After checking the plate and chatting with officials, Friesen found that the vehicle had actually already been impounded after RCMP officers were called to Radium Hot Springs with reports of a disturbance.

The officers there found Mitsuing and his friends in an intoxicated state – so they impounded the vehicle and dropped them off at a hotel, where Friesen found him the next day.

In an audio statement taken by Friesen at the hotel, which was played in court, Mitsuing said:

I was just trying to get a picture, was just f*cking arouRead More – Source