Whether there will be an inquest into a Whitehorse man's fatal mauling by a grizzly bear has yet to be determined, acting coroner Julius Debuschewitz said today.

Debuschewitz said Yukon coroner Sharon Hanley will have to make the call after reviewing the results of an autopsy and ongoing investigations by the RCMP and the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board.

Whitehorse resident Jean-Francois Page, 28, was attacked and killed by a sow grizzly last Friday while flagging a mineral claim some 30 kilometres east of Ross River.

Page was killed about within five metres of the bear's den and two three-month-old cubs.

It's not likely he would have been able to see the den site at it was above where he was walking, Ross River RCMP Const. Brian White said Monday.

Conservation and RCMP officers were alerted to the missing man by fellow crew members working in a different area who were unable to raise their co-worker over the portable radio.

The sow grizzly was shot and killed last Friday evening from the air in the immediate area around where Page's body was seen, for reasons of safety while investigating and recovering the body.

Wildlife officers returned the next day and shot and killed the cubs. It was determined the cubs had no chance of survival on their own, and permitting them to live would only bring about prolonged starvation.

Debuschewitz said Page's body will be flown to Vancouver for an autopsy, in keeping with the standard policy of conducting autopsies in all cases of workplace fatalities.

It's not clear whether Page had any type of bear deterrent, such as a firearm or bear spray.

Originally from Quebec, Page had lived and worked in the Yukon for several years.