A 72-year-old man in Montana successfully defended himself against a grizzly bear attack while he was gathering huckleberries in a national forest. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was alone when the adult female bear charged at him, causing severe injuries, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials. Despite his injuries, the man managed to shoot and kill the bear with a handgun before he was taken to a nearby hospital.
The bear was likely a mother protecting her cubs, suggested Dillon Tabish, a spokesperson for the agency. Wildlife officials have initiated a search for any cubs in the vicinity. The fate of any found cubs remains uncertain, as it would depend on their age. Tabish explained that if the cubs are old enough, they might be left in the wild as their survival chances are higher than if they were captured and potentially euthanized.
The incident occurred in the Flathead National Forest, approximately two miles north of Columbia Falls, a city in northwestern Montana with a population of around 5,500, as per the state wildlife agency.
On the same day, Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials shot and killed an adult female grizzly bear in the town of Gardner, just north of Yellowstone National Park. This bear had been breaking into homes and stealing food. The bear was killed in the Yellowstone River, about 300 miles south of the Columbia Falls area. No humans were harmed by this bear.
The bear had developed a habit of scavenging food from garbage and barbecue grills left outside, the department reported. Wildlife managers occasionally capture and relocate grizzlies known to cause issues for humans. However, bears involved in predatory attacks on humans or those likely to continue causing problems, even after relocation, are killed.
Approximately 2,000 grizzlies inhabit western Wyoming, eastern Idaho, and western Montana, with several thousand more in the Canadian Rockies and Alaska. Grizzly bears, which can weigh up to 700 pounds, are classified as a threatened species in the contiguous US under the Endangered Species Act. Elected officials in Rocky Mountain states are lobbying federal officials to remove their protected status, potentially paving the way for future hunting.