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
