Grizzly bear killed musician in Canada during sound gathering project

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

• A musician was dragged from his tent and killed by a grizzly bear in a remote area of Canada last week while recording nature sounds for a musical project, according to multiple reports.
• Julien Gauthier, 44, had been traveling with biologist Camille Toscani on the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories when the wild animal attacked.
• Gauthier had been a resident composer for France’s Brittany Symphony Orchestra since 2017.

Last week, a musician was attacked by a grizzly bear in Canada while on a trip there for a sound gathering project. According to multiple reports, Julien Gauthier, 44, was dragged from his tent and mauled to death by the bear in a remote area where he had stayed to record nature sounds for a musical project.

The French-Canadian had been traveling with Camille Toscani, a biologist, on the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories when the wild animal attacked, according to a BBC report.

Toscani said she discovered what had happened Thursday morning and immediately called for help. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the area and discovered the musician’s body the following day, the BBC reported.

According to a crowdfunding page created for Gauthier, the pair was planning a 930-mile canoe trip down the Mackenzie River from Fort Providence to Inuvik.

A week before the attack, Gauthier posted a status on Facebook, writing that he and Toscani hadn’t seen anyone for three days, “apart from 4 Bears.”

Gauthier was born in Canada then moved to France at age 19. He’d been a resident composer for France’s Brittany Symphony Orchestra for two years.

The two had been planning the trip to northern Canada for three years, Toscani told the French-language newspaper Le Parisien.

“We were so happy to get to do it,” she said. “He was a unique artist, inspired by open spaces and nature.”