A man hiking in Glacier National Park in Montana was attacked by a bear and then had to hike a mile to get help.
According to a statement released by the National Park Service, the 35-year-old man was hiking the Highline Trail adjacent to the Going to the Sun Road on Thursday morning. When the group reached the Grinnell Glacier Overlook trailhead, they encountered a bear that attacked and injured the man.
With assistance from his hiking group, rangers and other hikers on the trail, the victim hiked a mile to Granite Park Chalet, where he could be extracted via helicopter. Two Bear Air Rescue, a search and rescue company out of Kalispell, extracted the victim to a waiting ambulance.
The victim was taken to Whitefish, Montana, to be treated for “non-life-threatening injuries” he sustained in the bear attack. His identity and current status have not been disclosed.
Glacier National Park temporarily closed the Highline Trail “until further notice” while the incident remains under investigation.
“There are no updates at this time,” Autumn Sifuentes, a spokeswoman fort Glacier National Park, told Cowboy State Daily. “The species of bear (that caused the attack) is still unknown, and the Highline Trail is still closed.”
Busy Bear Season
There have been several bear encounters and attacks across Montana in 2024. Three grizzlies have been shot and two killed since archery season started on Sept. 7.
On Sept. 1, two bowhunters encountered a grizzly in the Island Park region. The bear managed to bite one of the hunters before it was killed with handguns.
On Sept. 9, bowhunters killed one grizzly and wounded another in another region of Montana, according to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). Another two hunters reported being charged by grizzlies in the Tepee Creek area north of West Yellowstone, Montana.
Meanwhile in Wyoming, David Mercado of Casper was hunting with his son, father and family friend Neil Richard in the Emerald Creek region near Dubois when they were charged by a grizzly.
The grizzly didn’t harm anyone, but the attack scared off the hunting group’s horses. They were stranded in the wilderness, which was especially perilous for Richard, who sustained a broken leg earlier that day.
Mercardo, Richard and the others were safely evacuated from their ordeal the next day.
That Time of Year
Wyoming’s first verified bear attack of 2024 happened in Grand Teton National Park in May.
Shayne Patrick Burke, 35, was hiking on Signal Mountain when he was viciously attacked by a mother grizzly, which only stopped when it bit into the bear spray canister he was carrying.
The archery seasons in Wyoming and Montana tend to see an increase in human-bear encounters, sometimes resulting in serious injury. Hunters are strongly encouraged to be prepared for a bear encounter by staying alert and keeping their bear spray and/or handguns handy.
“Hunters seem to plan for everything — what they’re going to eat, where they’re going to stay, even what beer they’re going to drink — but they don’t really plan for where they’re going to ingress and regress for their hunt,” seasoned hunter Greg Weatherby told Cowboy State Daily in 2023. “I tell people to take and old can of bear spray and practice with it.
“See what it’s really like to pull it from the holster, get the safety tab off and hit the spray in just a matter of seconds.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
