Grizzly Bear Attack Leaves Hiker Dead in Yellowstone National Park
A husband and wife's backcountry hike along a
popular trail turned tragic when they stumbled upon
a grizzly bear and her cubs and the 57-year-old man
was mauled to death, Yellowstone National Park
officials said.
The couple was hiking along the Wapiti Lake Trail in
the Grand Canyon area of the park, park officials told
ABC News. They had walked about a mile and a half
from the trail head when they saw the grizzly sow and
her cubs.
"The bear attacked the man and killed him," said
Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash.
The woman screamed out for help as the bear was
attacking her husband. Nearby hikers heard the pleas a
nd dialed 911. By the time park rangers arrived, the
man was dead.
"The initial indication is the sow grizzly was
protecting her cubs," Nash said. "The investigation,
as it unfolds, will help us determine if that, indeed,
was the case."
The park is not releasing the identities or the
hometown of the couple.
The wife suffered bumps and bruises and did not
require medical attention, officials said.
After the attack, all of Yellowstone's backcountry
campsites and hiking trails in the area were closed.
Rangers were on patrols to clear out all visitors from t
hose backcountry areas, park officials said. Bear
warning signs have been posted along the trail.
There had been no reports of bear encounters in the
area this season. There also had been no reports of
animal carcasses found, which often can be a sign of
bear activity.
Rangers are looking for the bear, Nash told ABC
News.
Currently, however, there is no effort to trap the bear,
officials said, because indications are it was a
defensive attack, the result of the sow protecting her
cubs.
In contrast, officials trapped a bear believed involved
in a 2010 attack near Yellowstone. In that case, a bear
killed a man at a campsite in the middle of the night
and injured others.
Today's incident is the first bear-caused human death
in the Yellowstone park limits since 1986.
"It is extremely unfortunate that this couple's trip into
the Yellowstone backcountry has ended in tragedy,"
Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk
said.
Yellowstone's hiking trails are typically packed with
visitors this time of year. Bear encounters are rare but
they do happen.
Those who decide to hike on Yellowstone's trails,
officials said, should hike in groups of three or more
people, make lots of noise and carry bear pepper
spray. It was unknown if the couple attacked was
carrying bear pepper spray.
Source: ABC News
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