A female grizzly and one of her yearling cubs were reportedly shot and killed by a Montana hunter. The man claimed he shot in self-defense after those bears, and another yearling, ran at him and his hunting partner.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is leading an ongoing investigation of the Wednesday incident, which happened near Seeley Lake in a remote area of Missoula County, Montana.
Grizzlies remain under Endangered Species Act protection in the Lower 48 and may not be hunted. They can, however, be legally killed in self-defense or in defense of others.
State game agencies and the FWS investigate claims of grizzlies being killed in self-defense to determine if the killings were justified.
Mule Deer Carcass Involved
The two hunters, who were not named in reports, told investigators that all three bears started running toward them from about 100 yards away, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP).
The hunters were hiking back to retrieve a mule deer carcass when they encountered the bears along the Pyramid Pass Trail east of Seeley Lake.
“The hunters reported that they yelled at the bears and waved their arms, but the bears continued running toward the hunters without slowing down,” FWP reports. "One hunter shot at and possibly killed two of the grizzly bears, and the third bear retreated towards the mule deer carcass."
The hunters left the site and immediately reported the shooting as self-defense to FWP.
“The U.S. Forest Service has posted signs at the Pyramid Pass Trailhead to alert visitors of the recent bear activity,” FWP reports.
It was later confirmed that the female and one of the yearlings were killed in the shooting, FWP Missoula Region spokeswoman Vivaca Crowser told Cowboy State Daily.
“The other one (yearling) has not been seen again,” she said.
Triple Bear Attack?
Human-bear conflicts sometimes happen near big game carcasses when grizzlies try to claim them as food sources.
It’s likely the hunters startled the female grizzly, who responded defensively, but might not have been bent on mauling the hunters, bear safety expert Kim Titchener told Cowboy State Daily.
The yearling cubs were probably just following their mother, which is normal behavior for young bears, she added.
“Bear cubs are learning from their mom what to do, and they will absolutely follow her,” said Titchener, founder of Bear Safety and More, an organization that works to mitigate human-bear conflicts in the U.S. and Canada.
“It is very unlikely that a mamma bear and her cubs were actually attacking. It was a mom likely being startled and defending her cubs after being startled by a human,” she added.
A Wyoming hunter who reported a close encounter with a female grizzly on Oct. 15 also said that bear’s cub was with her.
Celia Easton previously told Cowboy State Daily that she was rushed by the female grizzly and her cub while elk hunting near Cody.
She said the mother grizzly bit into one of her boots and pulled it off her foot, and then both bears turned and fled.
Canada Has Busy Year
Hunting season can be a time of frequent bear-human conflicts. Hunters try to move quietly, making it more likely for them to surprise bears.
Meanwhile, bears are in a gorging phase, trying to pack on fat for winter hibernation, and carcasses or gut piles left by hunters can tempt them.
In a case that authorities ruled to be legitimate self-defense, a hunter last month shot and killed a grizzly in the Island Park area of Idaho near Yellowstone National Park.
Things have also been busy in Canada, with several people getting mauled in the past few weeks, Titchener said.
The victims include a man who died of his injuries three weeks after he was attacked, she said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
