COLUMBIA FALLS — A 72-year-old man shot and killed an adult female grizzly bear on July 18 after he was attacked while huckleberry picking just 2 miles north of Columbia Falls.
The man was hospitalized from the encounter, due to HIPAA privacy laws his current condition is unknown.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) spokesman Dillon Tabish said they set up game cameras at the encounter site and have identified three orphaned cubs.
“And our plan right now is to leave the cubs in the wild, we think that this far along in the year that they may have a chance of survival, so we are going to leave them in the wild,” said Tabbish.
Northwest Montana is bear country and knowing how to avoid and handle a bear encounter can be a matter of life or death during a dangerous situation.
“We do live, work and recreate in bear country,” said People and Carnivores Field Project Manager Ryan Wilbur.
A constant reminder that we share this beautiful part of the world with grizzly bears is a great first step in keeping yourself safe while venturing outdoors.
“Making a lot of noise, being aware of your situations, avoiding dusk and dawn just because that’s when bears tend to be most active,” said Wilbur.
Wilbur is a Field Project Manager for People and Carnivores, an environmental conservation group working to prevent human-carnivore conflicts.
People and Carnivores focus on community outreach and the importance of knowing how to use bear spray.
“So, it’s really important to have bear spray on you, not just in a backpack, but having easy access to that as well and really trying to effectively, properly know how to use it.”
During lessons, Wilbur uses an electronic roaming bear to show how to properly deploy bear spray.
“Remove the safety and then deploy towards its feet because it is an aerosol it will tend to rise, if you aim for the head there’s a chance that it won’t change the behavior and then you want to continue to spray towards its feet until you run completely out of bear spray,” said Wilbur.
Tabish said grizzly bears are not seeking out human conflict, most attacks happen during surprise encounters.
“Really it’s the big three, it’s carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it, making noise, and traveling in groups, those are three really big steps that you can take to avoid a bear encounter.”
Tabish added the recent grizzly attack occurred near a trail system just outside of Columbia Fall, which serves as a reminder to always be ready for a possible encounter.
“Even if you’re close to town if you’re going to be out in the woods, right now there is wildlife, we’ve got bears in this area, we’ve got black bears and grizzly bears and so if you can really just be mindful of that, take some simple steps, you’ve got a really good chance of avoiding a bad encounter,” Tabbish told MTN.
