Grizzly injures father and son hunting in thick woods, Montana officials say
A grizzly bear charged from thick woods and injured a father and son on a Halloween hunting trip, Montana officials said.
The bear significantly injured the father and son before they shot and killed it, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a Saturday news release.
Officials said the female grizzly bear could have been protecting its cub when it bounded out of the woods.
“Based on the evidence gathered at the scene and interviews with the victims, we believe this was a surprise encounter involving an adult female grizzly bear defending a food source and her offspring,” FWP Regional Game Warden Captain Lee Anderson said in the news release.
The incident happened near Smith Lake north of Whitefish Lake in northwest Montana, officials said. A deer carcass was also found near where the grizzly attacked, wildlife officials said.
“Bear attacks on humans are rare, but Montana is bear country with populations of grizzly and black bears that frequent higher and lower elevations,” Fish, Wildlife and Parks said. “Bears are increasingly active and seeking food in the fall months before denning season. Bears typically enter their dens for the winter beginning in late November.”
Many bears in late fall are looking for food to fatten up before winter, and they eat “nearly nonstop” in a process called hyperphagia, according to the National Park Service. Some bears can gain more than 3 pounds a day in the weeks before hibernating.
Bears have been reportedly more aggressive this year, McClatchy News reported. The three-state Yellowstone region, which includes Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, reported an increase in the number of grizzly attacks earlier this year.
