A 34-year-old radar technician from Labrador, Canada, was mauled to death by two polar bears on August 8, 2024, at an Arctic radar site on Brevoort Island.
Christopher Best, who had started working at the site just two days before the attack, had ventured outside to photograph the bears, ignoring clear warning signs and advice to remain indoors.
Best had walked past a sign warning employees to be on the lookout for bears — and reassured his worried parents he was OK when they asked him hours earlier about photos of the bears he was posting online. Best said, 'Well, yeah, they're not close to us,'" his mother, Shelly Cox, told a Canadian news outlet.
Best had taken photos of a bear earlier and asked a wildlife monitor to inform him when bears were nearby so he could capture more images. On the day of the incident, he was alerted to a bear's presence and went outside, believing he was at a safe distance.
However, according to a report by his employer, the Nasittuq Corporation, he was unaware of a second bear that cut off his escape route and attacked him. Surveillance footage showed the second bear charging at Best, after which the first bear joined the attack.
Despite efforts to deter the bears with a non-lethal bear-banger, one bear had to be fatally shot after it turned back towards the scene. The report highlighted that Best had some polar bear awareness training, but certain documents to complete the course were missing.
Best's mother believes the tragedy could have been averted with additional safety measures, such as fences and motion-sensor alarms. The report suggested improvements to safety policies, including public announcements when bears are present and requiring workers to obtain permission before going outside after hours.
The incident marked the first known fatality from a bear attack at a North Warning System site in over seventy years of operation. Best posted the following photos on Facebook two days before his death, presuming on the day of his arrival at the site.
