A 72-year-old Montana man picking huckleberries was shot and killed by a grizzly bear during an unexpected encounter, authorities said Friday. He was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized, authorities said Friday.
The man was alone on national forest land Thursday when the adult female attacked him. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said he was seriously injured before killing the bear with a handgun.
Dillon Tabish, a spokesman for the agency, said the bear may have reacted defensively to protect the cub.
Wildlife staff set up game cameras in the area to try to confirm the cub’s presence. If the cubs are found, it’s uncertain whether they will be captured because it’s difficult to find facilities qualified to receive them, he said.
“Depending on the age, we might leave them in the wild because they have a better chance of survival rather than euthanize them,” Tabish said.
The attack occurred in the Flathead National Forest about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) north of Columbia Falls, a city in northwest Montana with a population of about 5,500, according to state wildlife agencies.
The victim’s name and further details about his condition were not released.
Meanwhile, Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff shot and killed an adult female grizzly bear Thursday after it became accustomed to looking for food from humans and breaking into homes in and around Gardner. A small town of about 800 people in the northern part of the national park.
Pet food, trash and barbecue grills left outdoors for bears to access contribute to the problem, according to a department statement. No one was injured before the bear was shot in the Yellowstone River.
Wildlife managers sometimes capture and relocate grizzly bears known to cause problems for humans. But they will kill those who are involved in predatory attacks on humans, or if they are deemed likely to continue causing problems regardless of being moved.
The Gardner-area grizzly bear was killed about 300 miles (500 kilometers) south of an unrelated attack in the Columbia Falls area. An estimated 2,000 grizzly bears roam western Wyoming, eastern Idaho, and western Montana, with thousands more inhabiting the Canadian Rockies and Alaska.
Grizzly bears in the continental United States are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Elected officials in Rocky Mountain states are urging federal officials to revoke its protected status, which could open the door to future hunting.
