A 72-year-old man killed a grizzly bear after he said it attacked him while he was picking berries in northern Montana.
The man told game wardens that he was picking berries about two miles north of Columbia Falls, Mont., on Thursday evening when the bear charged and attacked him, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
The man shot the bear with a handgun and killed it. He was hospitalized afterward, according to FWP. The man’s name and hometown were not reported, and no information was given about the nature and severity of his injuries.
The attack occurred on North Fork Road on the Flathead National Forest. The man was picking huckleberries, which grizzlies like.
FWP investigators determined the attack was a “surprise defensive encounter” and reported that an adult female grizzly had been killed, according to the agency.
“FWP is working to verify if any cubs are present,” the agency said in a statement released on Friday.
Second Bear Killed Thursday
It was the second grizzly reported to have been fatally shot in Montana on Thursday.
That morning, FWP wardens shot and killed a bear that had been going on food raids and breaking into homes and other structures for weeks in the Yellowstone gateway town of Gardiner, Mont.
Gardiner sits at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
