Tag: Bear attack

Idaho hunters kill grizzly bear after one hunter is attacked

The two men were archery hunting for elk when the bear charged from close range, biting one man and knocking him to the ground.

An archery hunter in Idaho was knocked to the ground and bitten by a grizzly bear Sunday, but he and his partner pulled sidearms and killed the bear.

Both men dialed 911 after the incident. As Monday afternoon, the injured hunter was recovering from non-life-threatening wounds at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the hunters were targeting elk west of Henrys Lake in Island Park when the attack occurred.

“Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack,” Fish and Game explained in a news release.

Conservation officers responded to the scene and determined “that the hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance.”

Grizzly bears are protected by state and federal law. Killing them while hunting is legal only in self-defense.

Henrys Lake is in the Caribou-Targhee National Park, about 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park.

–Grizzly bear image courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game

Montana angler injured by black bear in surprise encounter

The man was fishing alone on the Stillwater River when the incident occurred. The bear will not be tracked.

A Montana angler was injured Wednesday by a black bear that “swatted” his face as he fished alone on the Stillwater River near the town of Beehive.

According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the adult male did not seek medical attention after the incident.

The bear, which seemed to have reacted defensively after its surprise encounter, left the area immediately. The FWP stated that it does not plan to track or trap the bear.

The agency urged outdoor enthusiasts to exercise extreme caution when in bear country, and to travel in groups whenever possible.

“Recreationists, including anglers, should be aware, especially in areas with abundant natural foods such as fruit and berries and where hearing may be limited along rivers and streams,” the FWP stated in a news release.

The agency added that black bears and grizzly bears “can be especially active this time of year as they prepare for winter hibernation.”

The Stillwater River, a tributary of the Yellowstone River, is a blue-ribbon trout fishery.

–Generic black bear image courtesy of ©Pete Thomas

3-year-old girl sleeping in tent attacked by a black bear

The incident took place in an area of Montana that has had bear problems in the past.

Wildlife officials are attempting to capture a black bear that attacked a 3-year-old girl while she was sleeping in her tent at a private campground near Red Lodge, Montana.

The incident occurred around 10 o’clock on Sunday night at Perry’s RV Park and Campground, which was evacuated and temporarily closed, as reported by Hamilton, Montana-based Ravalli Republic.

The girl was transported to a hospital in Billings where she was treated, though her condition is not known.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Chrissy Webb told KRTV that there were attractants in the campground that contributed to the attack, but it was not known if any were inside the tent.

A live trap has been set in the area in hopes of capturing the offensive bear.

More from Ravalli Republic:

Red Lodge has had bear problems in the past.

Last August, a man shot a bear in his living room that had broken into his home 15 miles from the resort community at the base of the Beartooth Mountains.

In 2021, a Red Lodge resident shot a yearling bear in his backyard and was fined for hunting in a closed season.

In 2015, a black bear got into a woman’s car parked south of Red Lodge and destroyed the interior before jumping out through the front window.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has attempted to educate Red Lodge residents to keep food sources away from bears, everything from barbecue grills to fruit trees and bird seed. The town has also distributed bear-proof garbage cans. More information on bear safety tips can be found online at bearwise.org.

It doesn’t help that bears are attracted to the area because the town sits along Rock Creek, considered a perfect corridor for wildlife to travel, according to Ravalli Republic. Plus, the town is near large sections of wildlands, such as the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and agricultural lands.

Last month, a grizzly bear that was food-conditioned was shot and killed by FWP staff as it had been breaking into homes and businesses near and in the town of Gardiner, Ravalli Republic reported.

UPDATE: A black bear believed to have been involved in the attack was captured and euthanized at the private campground, according to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Capture efforts at the site will continue through tomorrow “for due diligence.”

Grand Teton mauling ends when grizzly bear activates bear spray

The 35-year-old victim had reached for his spray after encountering a grizzly bear cub, but momma bear was too quick.

Bear spray appears to have helped save the life of a man who was attacked by a grizzly bear Sunday in Grand Teton National Park, but not in the traditional sense.

The 35-year-old visitor from Massachusetts had encountered a grizzly bear cub, which ran off, causing the man to reach for his bear spray. But momma bear attacked before the man could activate the spray.

However, according to the Cowboy State Daily, the bear chomped on the man’s bear spray canister, causing it to burst in the bruin’s face. Momma bear and her cub subsequently ran off.

The man was released from the hospital Monday and is expected to fully recover.

The National Parks Guide  reports that because momma bear attacked while defending her cub, she will not be tracked and euthanized or relocated.

According to the Cowboy State Daily, this was the first reported grizzly bear mauling of the year in Wyoming. The incident occurred near the park’s Signal Mountain Summit Road.

–Grizzly bear image courtesy of National Park Service

Grand Teton National Park tourist mauled by grizzly bear

Park rangers believe the 35-year-old man was attacked after surprising two bears in a popular tourist area.

A Massachusetts man suffered serious injuries but is expected to fully recover after a grizzly bear attack Sunday in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park.

According to the National Park Service, the 35-year-old man appeared to have surprised two grizzly bears near the Signal Mountain Summit Road.

One bear charged and mauled the man, who was treated on scene and airlifted to St. John’s Hospital. He was listed in stable condition.

As of Monday afternoon, the Signal Mountain Summit Road and Signal Mountain Trail remained closed to the public.

Park visitors are urged to keep bear spray handy at all times, and to make plenty of noise on trails to avoid surprise bear encounters.

–Generic grizzly bear image courtesy of the National Park Service

Search fails to locate grizzly bear responsible for Montana attack

A Montana field investigation following the Sept. 8 mauling of a man by a grizzly bear has failed to locate a dead or injured bear.

A Montana field investigation following the Sept. 8 mauling of a man by a grizzly bear has failed to locate the bear believed responsible for the attack.

Rudy Noorlander was seriously injured during the attack in the Madison Range south of Big Sky. He remains in critical but stable condition.

One of Noorlander’s companions fired at the bear moments after it attacked, causing the animal to flee.

KateLynn Noorlander, Rudy’s daughter, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for medical costs. She stated that her father was trying to help hunters locate a deer they had shot when the bear charged him during a surprise encounter.

“Rudy aimed his gun at the bear but his firearm misfired, making his best choice of defense his fists as he did not have any time to get his bear spray from his backpack,” KateLynn stated in the GoFundMe post.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks explained Wednesday in a news release that an aerial search failed to locate a dead or injured bear.

“FWP grizzly bear specialists and game wardens, as well deputies from the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, revisited the attack site Tuesday,” FWP stated. “They searched the area near the attack site from the ground and with an infrared drone and didn’t locate a dead or wounded bear.

“However, they found signs of high bear activity, including the remains of a cached animal carcass, whitebark pine middens and bear scat. This evidence indicates the bear attacked defensively in a surprise, close encounter with the victim.”

The investigation has concluded but the area remains under an emergency closure implemented by the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

Yellowstone-area grizzly bear linked to fatal mauling euthanized

A grizzly bear linked to a fatal mauling in July was euthanized Saturday after it broke into a house near West Yellowstone.

A grizzly bear linked to a fatal mauling in July was euthanized Saturday after it broke into a house near West Yellowstone.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks was called to the residence after the bear broke a window to enter the house and steal a container of dog food.

FWP staff and local law enforcement trapped the bear and her cub Saturday evening. With approval from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the adult bear was shot and killed.

The bear was a 10-year-old female known to biologists and believed responsible for a fatal attack on a woman on the Buttermilk Trail near West Yellowstone in July.

According to FWP, the same bear injured a hiker in Idaho in 2020.

The FWP stated in a Wednesday news release:

“While both incidents were assessed to be defensive responses by the bear, multiple efforts to trap and remove the bear were made after the fatal attack in July due to the incident’s proximity to residences, campgrounds and a high-use OHV trail system. These efforts were unsuccessful.”

The 46-pound grizzly bear cub is being held at a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Helena and will likely end up at a zoo.

West Yellowstone is just outside the West Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

–Generic grizzly bear image courtesy of the National Park Service

Woman killed in apparent grizzly bear attack near Yellowstone

A woman was found deceased Saturday on a trail near the Montana town of West Yellowstone, the apparent victim of a grizzly bear attack.

A woman was found deceased Saturday on a trail near the Montana town of West Yellowstone, the apparent victim of a grizzly bear attack.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced Sunday that the body was discovered on the Buttermilk Trail, and that grizzly bear tracks were found nearby.

The Custer Gallatin National Forest has temporarily closed the area – about eight miles west of West Yellowstone – to recreational activities.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said more details would be released when they become available, and that the case was under investigation.

The agency cautioned anyone entering bear country to avoid hiking alone and to keep bear spray close at hand.

West Yellowstone is just outside the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

–Generic grizzly bear image courtesy of the National Park Service

Colorado sheepherder hospitalized after bear attack

A Colorado sheepherder is recovering from a bear attack that left him with bite wounds to the head and multiple lacerations and scratches.

A Colorado sheepherder is recovering from a bear attack that left him with bite wounds to the head and multiple lacerations and scratches.

The Tuesday incident, at about 1 a.m. in the Weminuche Wilderness northeast of Durango, marked the state’s first bear attack this year.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the 35-year-old man reported waking to sounds of a black bear interacting with sheep.

He fired a rifle at the bear moments before it charged. After the attack, the man crawled into his tent and contacted his cousin, asking for help.

The man was airlifted to Mercy Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Grand Junction for surgery.

ALSO: ‘Dominant’ brown bears brawl over fishing rights at Brooks Falls, Alaska

Colorado Parks and Wildlife collected DNA samples from the victim and at the scene near the Burnt Timber Trail. Officers found the man’s rifle and two dead sheep near a trail of blood.

CPW, with help from the Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, initiated a search and located what they believed to be the offending bear.

An APHIS officer shot and killed the animal.

CPW stated in a news release: “Because the bear made contact with a human, it is classified under CPW policy as an attack and the agency’s policy is to euthanize the bear.”

CPW Area Wildlife Manager Adrian Archuleta added: “This is a difficult part of the job. But when it comes to injuries to humans as a result of a predator attack, human health and safety is our top priority.”

The bear, an adult male weighing about 250 pounds, had sustained chest wounds but CPW had not determined whether they were from the victim’s rifle.

The bear’s stomach contents contained sheep wool but Archuleta said, “Until we get results back from the lab regarding DNA testing, we can’t 100% confirm that this is the offending bear. But based on the information we have at this point, we feel confident that it is the offending bear.”

–Generic black bear image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Rare bear attack in Vermont foiled with a flashlight; ‘it was terrifying’

A woman who stepped outside her condominium complex to let her dog out Wednesday night was attacked by a bear after the dog treed a cub.

A woman who stepped outside her condominium complex to let her dog out Wednesday night was attacked by a momma bear after the dog chased a cub up a tree.

Sarah Dietl, 43, sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries in what was an extremely rare bear attack in Vermont, according to the Brattleboro Reformer and VTDigger. The state had seen only four others in its history before this one, which was the second this year.

The bear charged Dietl and knocked her down. It then had Dietl’s head in its jaws.

“She came running out of the dark,” Dietl told the Reformer. “She ran right to me. It was terrifying.”

Her partner, Robert Montuoro, heard her cries for help, stepped outside and smacked the bear in the head with the heavy duty flashlight he had been carrying. The bear let go of Dietl, who with Montuoro hurried inside.

But the bear hadn’t given up the fight.

“Once I pulled Sarah into the house, the bear charged the door,” Montouro told the Reformer. They slammed the door in its face and called 911. “I was…terrified.”

Dietl was taken to Southern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington where she received 15 staples in her scalp and was treated for a “mangled” hand, cuts to her face and a gash in her side. She was released Thursday.

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The incident in Winhall occurred at 10 o’clock. Game wardens searched nearly 3½ hours for the bear and its cubs, and the couple’s dog before giving up; they resumed the next morning.

The dog, a Shih Tzu, came back home later Thursday morning and was unharmed.

More from the Brattleboro Reformer:

Col. Justin Stedman, warden director for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said bear encounters in Vermont this year are at “the highest level than we’ve ever had.”

Stedman said the increase in encounters is attributable to a number of factors, including an increase in both bear and human populations, a dearth of natural foods for bears this season because of a lack of rain, and the unseasonable temperatures throughout the region this fall.

He also said people need to do a better job securing food sources, such as dumpsters. Bears also have been spotted in this neighborhood eating ornamental pumpkins.

“Bears are intelligent creatures,” said Stedman. “They learn to associate people with food, because folks want to feed the birds, or they they want to put their garbage out. They don’t want to worry about it. These sort of things habituate bears to people, and it compounds over time.”

Generic photos courtesy of Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.