A 27-year-old man who dreamed of becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter was killed in a rare fatal bear attack while working at a remote uranium exploration site in northern Canada.
Hrishikesh Koloth, originally from Kerala, India, died May 8 after he was attacked by a black bear at the Zoo Bay property in northern Saskatchewan. The site is operated by Vancouver-based UraniumX Discovery Corp. and is located near Nordbye Lake, about 530 miles northeast of Saskatoon.
Koloth had been working there on contract as a technician. But according to his older brother, Arjun Koloth, the job was never the dream.
Fighting was.
“That was his dream. That’s why he came here,” Arjun said. “He wanted to fight in the UFC.”
Hrishikesh had trained in mixed martial arts for more than a decade, beginning in India before continuing his training after moving to Canada three years ago. He had been living in Penticton, British Columbia, with Arjun and trained with Skoden Martial Arts.
His brother said the people around him believed he had real potential.
“Everybody had high hopes on him,” Arjun said. “It shouldn’t have been like this.”
The devastating news came in the middle of the night.
Arjun said an RCMP officer knocked on his door around 4 a.m. to tell him that his brother had died in Saskatchewan.
“An RCMP came to my door and knocked and let me know that your brother has passed away in Saskatchewan,” he said.
Authorities said a civilian at the site shot and killed the bear after the attack. The animal was later taken to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon for a necropsy.
UraniumX Discovery Corp. confirmed that one of its contractors had been killed and offered condolences to the family.
For Arjun, the pain is unbearable because his younger brother’s future appeared to be opening up. Hrishikesh had been set to start a job as a boxing coach in Vancouver in June.
But even that job was part of a larger goal.
“Job is just a means to an end,” Arjun said. “The end was to fight.”
He described Hrishikesh as humble, fearless and deeply devoted to his family. He said his brother loved spoiling their parents and wanted to give everything he could back to them.
In the ring, Arjun said, Hrishikesh had no fear.
“He’s not scared of anything,” Arjun said. “Two days notice before a fight? Doesn’t matter. Opponent heavier than him? Doesn’t matter. Win or lose, he just wanted to fight.”
Arjun has since traveled back to Kerala for his brother’s funeral and to be with the rest of the family.
He said he wants people to remember Hrishikesh not just for the tragedy of how he died, but for the life he was chasing.
“I wanted him to be known for what he does, how he was,” Arjun said. “I can’t do anything anymore, so at least I could do this for him.”
He described his brother as having an “innocent heart” and a “fighter’s soul.”
“Warrior,” Arjun said. “And I’d just like to say he fought the bear. That’s all. Bear didn’t attack him. He attacked the bear.”
The fatal attack was only the fourth recorded deadly bear incident in Saskatchewan history. The previous fatal case happened in 2020, when 44-year-old Stephanie Blais was killed near her family’s cabin north of Buffalo Narrows.