Canadian woman, 26, is MAULED to death by black BEAR in rare attack while planting trees as part of Alberta logging operation in THIRD fatal bear attack in province since May
Including Saturday's fatal black bear maulings, there have been a total of six in the Canadian province of Alberta since 1958
A Canadian woman was mauled to death by a black bear Saturday while planting trees for a logging operation in a remote area - a typically rare occurrence that's now happened three times in the area in the last several months.
The 26-year-old helicopter engineer, who's name was not released per the family's request, was attacked by what witnesses describe as an adult black bear, one of the largest predators in North America.
One of the woman's co-workers tried to scare away the animal prior to calling for help, the Guardian reports.
'She was evacuated by her co-worker on a helicopter and brought back to the Swan Hills airport,' RCMP spokesperson Cpl Troy Savinkoff told the Canadian Press.
He said she was declared dead at the airport.
Officials found three adult black bears near Saturday's fatal attack, and have since identified one responsible for the mauling through DNA samples. The bear was euthanized, a Alberta Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said according to CBC News.
The victim was hired by a private company to re-forest large parts of the woodlands in northwest area of Alberta after logging operations in the area.
Officials said planters often work long hours in the dense forest and have encountered wild animals in the past, including bears, wolves and cougars, according to the news outlet.
Black bears are some of the largest predators on the North American continent
Pictured: David Lertzman, a beloved Calgary professor, was killed during a bear attack near Waiparous Village, northwest of the city, in late May
A seasonal influx of more outdoor activity during the summer months explains the spike in bear attacks during May, June, July, and August, officials added.
It is the second time a tree planter has been killed by a black bear since 1985, when a 24-year-old named Gordon Ray was mauled in British Columbia.
Including Saturday's attack, there have six deadly black bear attacks reported in Alberta since 1958. While fatal black bear attacks in the province are considered rare, the same can't be said for other types of bear attacks, namely grizzlies.
On May 4, Calgary professor David Lertzman was killed in a grizzly bear attack near Waiparous Village, northwest of the city in Alberta, according to Global News Canada.
A female black bear forages in the forest along the Bow River Parkway in Alberta, Canada for food
The outlet reports that Lertzman's wife, Sarah, found his body after he didn't return home following a jog along a nearby trail.
'I was looking for a man in trouble and not for a scene of something that had happened,' she wrote on her Facebook page.
'I did not know the risk to myself in that moment, and I am truly blessed that nothing happened to me, as the officers reminded me repeatedly later in the night,' she added.
Lertzman was attacked from behind by the animal, which pushed him off a nearly 1000-foot embankment, officials said.
A map of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, which has been the sight of several deadly bear attacks in recent months
'The wounds were consistent with an instantaneous death, so he suffered very little. This was important for me to know,' his grieving wife wrote.
Three weeks later and just 15 miles away, a 68-year-old woman was mauled to death by a grizzly near Water Valley, according to a statement by Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
In that attack, officials discovered the woman's body partially buried. Authorities ultimately determined that she died in a defensive bear attack. Two female grizzlies were captured five days after the fatal mauling.