A person who was selecting huckleberries on Flathead Nationwide Forest land Thursday night was charged and attacked by a grizzly sow. The 72-year-old, whose identification has not but been made public, shot and killed the bear along with his handgun, in line with an announcement from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on Friday.
Few particulars have been launched in regards to the incident, although the sufferer’s accidents have been critical sufficient that he was hospitalized. No particulars in regards to the man’s situation or prognosis have been launched, however he was apparently lucid sufficient to contact authorities and clarify the encounter. The person instructed officers he was selecting berries alone about 2 miles north of Columbia Falls off the North Fork Highway when the sow charged.
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“FWP wardens and bear specialists responded to the incident and confirmed that an grownup feminine grizzly bear was killed,” the company wrote in its terse press launch. “FWP is working to confirm if any cubs are current. FWP decided it to be a shock defensive encounter. No extra info is accessible presently.”
MFWP spokesperson Dillion Tabish instructed the Related Press that wildlife officers had set out path cams to try to substantiate the presence of cubs. Even when the cameras do doc younger grizzly cubs within the space, Tabish mentioned he’s undecided if they might be captured as a result of it’s tough to search out rehabilitation services which are certified to simply accept them.
“Relying on the age [of any cubs we find,] we would depart them within the wild as a result of they’ve a greater likelihood of survival, slightly than need to euthanize them,” Tabish instructed the AP.
Grizzlies have a slower reproductive fee than black bears, and it’s doable she didn’t have younger cubs this season. As soon as grizzly sows attain breeding age (between three and eight years of age) they offer start each three to 4 years into their mid-20s, in line with the College of Montana. A grizzly’s common litter measurement is 2 cubs, although particular person litters can vary from one to 4 cubs. Cubs often stick with the sow for 2 to a few years earlier than dispersing.
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That is the second recognized grizzly assault within the Decrease 48 this yr. In Might, a backcountry hiker in Wyoming’s Grand Teton Nationwide Park was attacked by a sow shortly after encountering a cub. He deployed bear spray, which he credit for saving his life, and was hospitalized for days with extreme accidents to his leg, again, and hand. Final yr there have been not less than two high-profile grizzly assaults in Montana, with a path runner dying from a bear assault in West Yellowstone and a person loosing a part of his jaw to a griz in Massive Sky.
