“Town Crier” newsletter – Briefs from the Region (1) – 4/15/20
At approximately 9 p.m. on the evening of April 8, a hiker near Dupuyer, Montana was attacked when a mother grizzly bear charged him, biting his legs in a bid to protect her nearby cubs. The man was carrying a pistol and managed to shoot the animal at close range, driving it off and into the nearby brush. After the attack he was able to call an ambulance for the non-life-threatening injuries he sustained. The cubs whereabouts were unknown for days, a dicey situation which could have ultimately led to their deaths at the hand of another predator, likely another bear. According to the Billings Gazette, in the most Montana like moment, a rancher family near the incident managed to rope the cubs into safety on April 10, placing them in a barrel until Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks was able to retrieve them. The babies were in good health, but were immediately placed onto a special feeding formula. Since humans will incidentally habituate them, they will not be released back into the wild where they would be a danger to humans and ill-equipped to survive on their own. Instead, they will be placed at an accredited Association of Zoos and Aquariums facility to live out the remainder of their lives.
