A massive grizzly bear charged out of thick brush southeast of Glacier National Park, attacking and injuring a bird hunter before the man shot the animal, according to Montana wildlife officials
The 51-year-old Washington state man was left with injuries that were not life-threatening after the encounter in a creek bottom east of the town of Choteau. He and his wife were hunting on private property when their dogs went on point, said Dave Hagengruber, spokesperson for the state wildlife department. When he went to flush the bird when, a 677-pound male bear charged out of the brush, knocked the man over and stepped on him, Hagengruber said.
The man fired at the bear with a shotgun and a handgun, wounding the animal, which returned to the cover of the thick brush, wildlife officials said. The couple and their dogs left and notified authorities. Grizzly bears are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, but state and federal wildlife officials decided the bear had to be euthanized because of its injuries. A drone was used to locate the bear, Hagengruber said. The man did not suffer claw or bite marks, but did spend the night in the hospital, Hagengruber said.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks urged bird hunters to exercise caution in and around Ninepipe Wildlife Management Area south of Ronan after the grizzly encounter.
A humble homesteader based in an undisclosed location, Lars Drecker splits his time between tending his little slice of self-sustaining heaven, and bothering his neighbors to do his work for him. This is mainly the fault of a debilitating predilection for fishing, hunting, camping and all other things outdoors. When not engaged in any of the above activities, you can normally find him broken down on the side of the road, in some piece of junk he just “fixed-up.”
Nick says
Unless you have been there and done that you don’t have the right to comment. Anyone can say what they would or would not do from the comfort of their living room.
Warren says
I think it is always easy for a second party to say what a person could have or should have done in any situation. People have also been known to freeze at the wrong moment and not capable of pulling the trigger. I am just glad that our Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game (ADFG) are always on bear alert and track the bears that hang around town.
Gary says
These paws are made for walkin’ and that’s what they’re gonna do….. One of these days these paws are gonna……
W Gamblin says
He panicked and now a bear is dead. This guy needs to be banned from hunting
Bill Carter says
So you wouldn’t panic if a grizzly stepped on your chest…Glad your not a Hunter..we would still hear you crying.
D Thater says
Spot on Bill, mr. Gambling isn’t from around here….very naive individual.
Chris Mayer says
YOU sir, are a f’n moron…..
Jeff says
Stupid comment.
Bill Carter says
John Barrett’s dogs name still has me laughing…I’ve always thought West Texas had only Coyote’s for predators,but a black bear was sighted in Sterling City which is roughly 30 miles from me just last week..TPW said more may be migrating north out of Mexico due to weather conditions…I’m glad we have permit less carry here now.. even though black bears aren’t near as scarry as grizzlies. I’ve seen mountain lions tracks,but never any critters bigger than a coyote. Be safe
John Barrett says
My wife and I lived nine years in Great Falls Montana back in the 80s. I am well aware of grizzly bears being out on the High Plains. I thank God for my black lab on one significant location while walking through thickets into Beaver Ponds east of the continental divide on the High Plains, she stood still, growled, the hair on the top of her head to the tip of her tail stood up and I knew there was a grizzly bedded down for the day. My friends and I backed out of the area and went to another location to fly fish. Choteau, Montana had a siren to warn residents of a bear walking through the community. No Choteau resident left their dog out at night. Friends, who owned ranch west of Choteau and who owned the Cow Track restaurant had a Grizzly Bear leaning up against the picture window looking in while cleaning the mantle of the fireplace. A young lady Who work for me and who grew up on a ranch northwest of Choteau coming home from a night out had to park her car right near the front entrance to the house because of the grizzlies invading the Apple tree in the yard. In fact, we had grizzly bear sightings just 20 miles west of Great Falls Montana which is like 50 miles off of the Rocky Mountains. There was a great camp ground West of Choteau, where we would park our camper trailer for a weekend, Friday through Monday with a great little creek to fly fish, the North Fork of the Teton river. Needless to say I always had my 44 magnum and my black lab with me. Other campers would often ask me the name of my dog and I always responded First Food. 🤔😱👍🏻😀