A large male grizzly bear attacked two archery hunters in Idaho Near Yellowstone National Park on Sunday, wounding one of the men before they both shot and killed it with their handguns.
It mirrored an attack in roughly the same area exactly a year previously Sept. 1, 2023, when archery hunters killed a charging bear with their handguns.
Sunday’s attack happened west of Henry’s Lake in the Island Park area, on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road, according to the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
The grizzly knocked one of the hunters down and bit him before they were both able to draw their sidearms and fire, according to Fish and Game, which didn’t disclose the men’s names.
The attack happened about 7 a.m. in a brushy area, and was a matter of the hunters just “being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Idaho Fish and Game spokesman James Brower told Cowboy State Daily.
The wounded man was flown by helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical center with “nonlife-threatening injuries,” according the agency.
An investigation determined that the men had killed the bear in legitimate self-defense.
‘Just Doing What Archery Hunters Do’
Archery elk hunting seasons are open across Wyoming, Idaho and the rest of the region. That’s put hunters’ boots on the ground in remote areas where grizzlies are also active, foraging for whatever they can find to fatten up for the winter.
The men were “just doing what archery hunters do” when ran into the bear, Brower said.
In other words, being as quiet and stealthy as possible.
It’s an “age-old quandary for hunters,” he added.
Because they’re sneaking around, when the usual safety protocols in grizzly county call for people to be noisy, to avoid surprising bears.
Sunday’s attack was prompted purely by a surprise encounter. The male grizzly apparently wasn’t guarding a big game carcass or other food stash, Brower said.
Similar Attacks In 2023
A grizzly bear was shot and killed after charging two archery hunters Sept. 1, 2023, near Island Park Reservoir, Idaho.
About a month later, a hunter used his handgun to shoot and kill a large female grizzly in the Henry’s Lake area of Idaho.
In the second incident, one of the hunters saw the grizzly and yelled a warning to his partner before the grizzly charged the first hunter. He managed to draw his sidearm, aim it and fire several shots, killing the bear.
Those shootings were both cleared as cases of legitimate self-defense.
Grizzlies remain under federal protection in the Lower 48 and may not be hunted, but they can be shot in self-defense.
Archery hunters are allowed to carry sidearms for self-defense against bears in Idaho and Wyoming, but they may not use their firearms to shoot the big game animals they’re hunting.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
