Man injured in bear attack at Glacier National Park walks over a mile to reach rescue helicopter
A section of a popular Glacier National Park trail was closed Thursday after a man was attacked by a bear and injured, park officials said, marking the second bear attack in Montana in just over a month.
Rangers are still trying to determine if the attack involved a grizzly bear or a black bear.
The 35-year-old man sustained non-life-threatening injuries Thursday morning when his hiking party encountered the bear near the Grinnell Glacier Overlook trailhead on the Highline Trail, the National Park Service said in a news release.
The man hiked over a mile to Granite Park Chalet with assistance and was flown by a "Two Bear Air" rescue helicopter to a spot where he could be taken by ambulance to a hospital in Whitefish.
The trail from Haystack Butte to the Granite Park Chalet will remain closed until further notice, officials said.
Park officials did not release any further information, including the man's name or the extent of his injuries.
Bear attacks on humans in Montana are rare but they do happen. Just last month, a black bear mauled and injured a 3-year-old girl in a tent at a private campground in Montana.
Last October, a 73-year-old woman was hospitalized after she was attacked by a bear west of Glacier National Park. That attack came just weeks after a hunter was mauled by a grizzly in Montana.
In 2021, a grizzly bear pulled a woman from her tent in a small Montana town in the middle of the night and killed her.
Preventing bear attacks
Park officials on Thursday reminded the public that Glacier National Park is home to black and grizzly bears. Hikers are highly encouraged to hike in groups, make noise when hiking, and have bear spray accessible and know how to use it.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks offered these tips to avoid bear encounters:
- Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it immediately.
- Make noise to alert bears to your presence and travel in groups.
- Stay away from animal carcasses, which often attract bears.
- Follow food storage orders from the applicable land management agency.
- If you encounter a bear, never approach it. Leave the area when it is safe to do so.
- If you are attacked by a bear and you are without a deterrent or the deterrent hasn't worked, stay face down on the ground, protecting your face and neck with your arms. Stay still until you're certain the bear has moved away.
- Keep garbage, bird feeders, pet food and other attractants put away in a secure building. Keep garbage in a secure building until the day it is collected. Certified bear-resistant garbage containers are available in many areas.
- Never feed wildlife. Bears that become food conditioned lose their natural foraging behavior and pose threats to human safety. It is illegal to feed bears in Montana.