Since 1939, Park has recorded 101 bear bite incidents

Hungry Horse News

Glacier National Park officials have not determined whether they will try to take any action against the grizzly sow that mauled two people on the Grinnell Glacier Trail last week.

For one, it was a surprise encounter and it was a sow with two cubs. It was not a predatory situation, park officials note.

Secondly, the Park could have a hard time determining what bear family actually caused the attack, said Park spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt.

The Many Glacier Valley has a lot of bears.

Vanderbilt noted the Park has yet to interview either one of the victims, which could play a role in the Park's management actions. In general, however, the Park doesn't kill grizzly sows with cubs if its determined to be a defensive action. Sows with cubs can be very aggressive if they feel threatened by humans or other predators.

A sow grizzly on the Highline Trail earlier this year, for example, forced dozens of hikers off the trail as she walked with her cub. The same sow had bluff charged hikers just prior to that.

Human deaths by bears in Glacier are relatively rare. Bear bites, however, are not.

The last person bitten by a grizzly was jogger Gary Smith in May 2004. A bear went after him and bit his shoe. Smith was able to hit that bear with bear spray and came away relatively unscathed.

In September 2003, Kelsey Runningwolf and Kathryn Heistand were attacked by a grizzly while hiking off trail near Piegan Pass.

Runningwolf was bitten as Heistand sprayed the bear with pepper spray.

Runningwolf received several bites from the bear, but was able to walk out on her own and Heistand had an ankle injury from the incident.

In total, the Park has recorded 101 bear bite incidents since 1939, Vanderbilt said. That includes people illegally feeding them, she noted.

On another matter of public interest, the Park has declined to release the names of the victims of the Aug. 18 attack after consulting with Park Service attorneys.

In that matter, Park Service attorneys have said that because the victims specifically asked to not have their names released, their right to privacy outweighs the public's right to know, Vanderbilt said.