Three hunters have been injured after being attacked by a grizzly bear in the same area of southwestern Montana. Wildlife officials said the attacks were separate and occurred less than 12 hours of each other.
An investigation is underway to determine if the same bear attacked the men in the Gravelly Mountains area, which is about 70 miles southwest of Bozeman and regularly frequented by grizzly bears, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks spokesman Morgan Jacobsen said on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
The first attack happened on Monday around 7:30 a.m. near Black Butte, the highest peak in the mountain range. Two elk hunters said a bear charged at them and injured them. The men were able to drive it away and eventually made it small nearby town where they sought medical treatment.
The second attack happened around 6:30 p.m. that same day and less than a mile away from the first attack. Two hunters were attacked but only one was injured before the men were eventually able to drive it away. The injured man subsequently received treatment in two separate towns.
All four men are from out of state and the extent of their injuries remains unknown, Jacobsen said.
He added that both hunting parties had bear spray, a non-lethal deterrent designed to stop aggressive behavior in bears, but couldn’t confirm if they had used it on the animal.
“That’s something we really try to emphasize: Hunting with a partner,” Jacobsen said, adding that had the men been alone, it could have made it harder to fight off the bear and get help. “This is a notorious area for grizzly bear activity so it was certainly not an isolated bear. There are other grizzly bears in this area.”
The fate of the bear involved in the attack will depend on the results of the investigation, which is still underway.
The grizzly population in and around Yellowstone National Park, which includes the Gravelly range, has increased from an estimated 136 bears when they were granted federal protection in the mid-1970s to about 700 today.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
