Coach Spankie rooting for Christopher

Teen recovering from grizzly attack, surgery in Vancouver hospital
The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER (CP) -

A 13-year-old boy mauled by a grizzly bear Monday is out of intensive care and recovering from his wounds in a Vancouver hospital.

"He's talking and he's making the odd joke," Christopher Solecki's aunt Catherine Fairlie said on Wednesday. "He said he'd like to have a bearskin rug, but only one particular bear."

Christopher and his brother were out for an evening stroll with their dog on the family's cattle farm near Burns Lake when the dog disturbed the bear and it charged. Christopher was bitten in the leg, breaking his femur, while his horrified older brother Matthew, 15, looked on. The bear grabbed Christopher and threw him, then either bit, clawed or stood on the boy's head, fracturing his skull.

"He wasn't sure where the bear was, so he was trying to crawl away, but he couldn't because of his broken leg," Fairlie said. Matthew ran to alert his father, Jon, who raced to Christopher's side and carried him to safety.
Fairlie said her nephew isn't quite sure what happened after the initial chomp, but his memory and mental faculties seem to be functioning normally.

"There aren't any concerns of brain injury," she said.

Christopher was helicoptered to hospital in Burns Lake, where he was stabilized, then flown to a hospital in Vancouver for surgery. He was groggy from painkillers on Wednesday, but otherwise recovering well with his mother Cynthia at his side, Fairlie said.

"He's in great spirits. He's a strong kid and an athlete. He just has to get past this physical impasse."

Ironically, Christopher is a star goalie for the Burns Lake Bruins. His minor hockey teammates, which boasts a bear paw logo, are pulling for him, said coach Grant Spankie. The coach is flying to Vancouver this weekend to visit. Christopher played all 40 games with the team last season and was the team's only goalie.
Team manager Brenda Payne said his loss will leave a void.

Meanwhile, the search for the grizzly continues. Conservation officers deployed traps snares and bait stations, but there was no sign of the bear on Wednesday. Conservation officer Bob Coyle said the bear likely won't be destroyed if it's captured. The grizzly apparently acted defensively, spooked by the dog, then alarmed to see the two boys so close.

"This encounter was totally outside of its experiences," Coyle said. "It seems to be reacting within the norms of bear behaviour." He said the bear is likely "long gone." Those who try to stand and fight a grizzly generally don't fare as well as Christopher did, said Coyle.

"This young fellow was fortunate," he added.