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29th Nov 2018

Mum and 10-month-old baby girl killed in grizzly bear attack in Canada

The woman was on maternity leave after welcoming her first child.

Anna O'Rourke

Mum and 10-month-old baby girl killed in grizzly bear attack in Canada

A woman and her baby have been killed in a grizzly bear attack in Canada.

Valerie Theoret, 37, was staying with her partner Gjermund Roesholt and their baby daughter Adele and  in a remote cabin at Einarson Lake in the sparsely populated Yukon territory, which borders Alaska to the north west of the country.

Ms Theoret and Adele were alone in the cabin when the attack happened, the local coroner said.

Their bodies were discovered by Mr Roesholt on Monday afternoon, reports CBC.

Mum and 10-month-old baby girl killed in grizzly bear attack in Canada

He had been out setting laying traps for fur trapping around 100m from the cabin. when he was charged by a grizzly bear.

He shot and killed the bear and returned to the cabin to find that his partner and baby had been killed outside.

The coroner said that Ms Theoret and the child had left the cabin to go for a walk some time in the morning or afternoon and were attacked by the same bear.

Mr Roesholt used an emergency beacon to alert police in the nearby village of Mayo.

The family had spent the last three months in the area as Ms Theoret was on maternity leave from her role as a sixth grade teacher in the territory’s capital, Whitehorse.

They were experienced trappers and had bought the trapline three years ago.

Fatal bear attacks are rare in Canada.