Two Montana bowhunters had a frighteningly close run-in with one of America’s fiercest apex predators earlier this month. According to a Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) press release, the bowhunters were in the Teepee Creek area, which is near West Yellowstone, on Monday, September 9 when they encountered a grizzly sow with two yearling cubs.
The sow and cubs charged the hunters, who used handguns to shoot at the bears in self-defense. The hunters successfully fended off the attack and were not injured in the incident. Officials have not disclosed the identities of the hunters or the make and models of the handguns they used.
Game wardens and bear specialists later visited the scene of the attack. They confirmed that the adult sow had died and also “found evidence of a yearling bear being injured, but they did not locate the yearling bears.”
The FWP does not plan to take any further management actions. The incident is currently being investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which oversees grizzly management because of the species’ listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The recent attack comes on the heels of several other human-bear conflicts in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which is home to around 1,000 grizzlies. In August, officials killed an adult female in the Gravelly Mountains, not far from the scene incident, that had been killing sheep. Later that month, an adult male was euthanized in Paradise Valley for depredating cows. Two bowhunters recently shot and killed a male grizzly in Island Park, Idaho after the animal charged and attacked one of them on an opening-day elk hunt.
Montana is one of several states that has petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to delist grizzly bears, citing population recovery goals that have been met. The federal agency has delayed its decision making because of a tangle of interrelated lawsuits, according to WyoFile.
Read Next: Anti-Hunting Groups Are Targeting Oregon's Spring Bear Season
Management decisions aside, FWP officials are urging folks to be bear aware and carry bear spray in the Treasure State this fall. “Grizzly bear populations continue to become denser and more widespread in Montana, increasing the likelihood that residents and recreationists will encounter them in more places each year,” the agency wrote. “This time of year is when bears are active for longer periods as they consume more food in preparation for hibernation. This period overlaps with hunting season and other fall recreation activities.”
