Less than a month after a man was apparently killed by a grizzly in Glacier National Park in Montana, there were reports of another possible bear attack on a hiker on Thursday.
A “surprise encounter involving a hiker and a bear occurred on the Grinnell Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park,” park spokeswoman Autumn Sifuentes stated in an email to Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
“National Park Service personnel and emergency services responded to the incident. The Grinnell Glacier Trail is temporarily closed and will reopen when deemed appropriate by park staff,” she added.
There was no further information available about the species or size of the bear, or whether the hiker suffered any injuries.
Hiker Devin Dufrene described encountering a distraught man who was screaming about a “bear attack” SF Gate reported.
Although he and his sister attempted to get the man to calm down, “he continued running and screaming,” according to SFGate. “Knowing there was an attack up-trail and now a bear approaching from the opposite direction, we decided to ascend up the cliffside and wait for the bear to pass.”
A little later, Dufrene told SFGate that they saw park rangers going in the direction of the reported attack.
In early May, Glacier Park reported its first fatal bear attack since 1998.
Florida resident Anthony Pollio, 33 was reported missing May 4. On May 6, his body was found in a densely wooded area roughly 50 feet from the trail he’d apparently been hiking on.
Busy Year Already
May is usually the first month of widespread grizzly and black bear activity. This year, it’s been a busy month for bear attacks.
On May 4, two brothers were severely injured when they were attacked by a female grizzly with cubs near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.
Also this month, a black bear hunter in Idaho shot and killed a grizzly when it charged him and his son. Wildlife agents deemed the shooting a legitimate case of self-defense.
And on Monday near Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, a man running on a forested trail was attacked and injured by a female black bear with two cubs, Canadian Running Magazine reported.
‘The Men Mocked Me’
Outdoor adventurer Michael Hodges was photographing grizzlies in the Glacier Park backcountry on the day that Pollio’s body was discovered about 15 miles away.
Later, he was on the same trail where Thursday’s alleged bear attack was reported.
“I was up on the trail the week of May 6 and saw many grizzlies,” he stated in a text message to Cowboy State Daily.
“I warned hikers from California and Texas at the trailhead that there was an unusual number of griz, and to be extra alert,” stated Hodges, a novelist and internet personality.
“The men mocked me, the women in the group listened,” he added.
‘High Quality Habitat For Bears’
Contrary to popular perceptions, grizzlies in Glacier Park aren’t meaner than those elsewhere, bear experts told Cowboy State Daily.
Rather, the area’s thick vegetation and rugged landscape increase the chances of hikers and bears surprising each other at close range.
“For the most part, if bears hear you, see you or smell you, they don’t want to have anything to do with you,” Canadian human-bear conflict prevention expert Kim Titchener said.
She’s hiked in Glacier Park and said she can attest to how conditions there can make it more difficult for bears to sense people approaching.
She added that the landscape around Squamish, where the runner was attacked by a black bear is similar.
“It’s got lots of thick vegetation,” said Titchener, the founder of the Bear Safety and More organization.
And people shouldn’t take for granted that black bears can also be dangerous if they’re surprised at close range, she added.
Retired ecologist Chuck Neal of Cody, who frequently hikes solo in grizzly country, agreed that hiking in Glacier Park demands extra alertness.
“Encounters can happen at just a few yards away” if hikers aren’t paying keen attention, Neal said.
“It’s a high-quality habitat for bears. It’s better habitat for bears than Yellowstone is” and tends to attract a younger crowd, he said.
“Those younger hikers go barreling up those trails without paying that much attention,” Neal said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
