Bear attack near Olney latest in string of conflicts

A 500-pound grizzly bear was shot dead after it reportedly charged three men hiking near Olney on Saturday.

Wildlife authorities say the men were walking along an old logging road near Upper Whitefish Lake when they smelled something rotting.

Their dog ran down the road and encountered a bear and then ran back toward the men with the bear on its tail.

The men said they yelled at the bear before it charged.

One of the men shot the male grizzly with a high-power rifle and the animal came to rest about 10 feet away.

The men reported the incident to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators found the dead bear with an elk carcass nearby.

Because grizzly bears are an endangered species, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials will provide a report to federal agencies for investigation.

The incident is the latest in a string bear-human conflicts in the past month.

An elderly woman was attacked at her residence west of Kalispell by a black bear on Sept. 27. She later died of her injuries.

A report from FWP Investigator Brian Sommers revealed that the woman was attacked inside her residence between Batavia and Ashley Lake, that she was actively feeding bears, and that numerous bears have been frequenting the property.

FWP has set traps to capture the bear involved in the attack. Two other food-conditioned black bears were captured and euthanized at the residence.

Necropsy performed on the bears revealed extensive artificial feeding of sunflower seeds and millet. One young female black bear weighed 99 pounds, and an adult female weighed 162 pounds. Investigators believe that neither of these bears were the one involved in the attack.

Bear and lion specialist Erik Wenum said the evidence is clear that someone in the area is still feeding bears.

“Someone is hampering our investigation by continuing to extensively feed bears, making our efforts to attract and trap the offending bear that much more difficult,” he said.

Sommers note that people feeding bears can be cited for obstruction of an investigation.

In another recent bear-human conflict, a bowhunter was hospitalized over the weekend after a grizzly attacked him north of Choteau.

The man was able to fend off the attack by shoving his arm down the bear’s throat, advice he remembered from a magazine article his grandmother had given him.

The man received stitches and staples in his head, some on his face, a swollen eye and deep puncture wounds on his leg.

On Sept. 29, a Wisconsin man was attacked by a grizzly bear in the Many Glacier Valley of northeast Glacier National Park when he surprised the sow bear and her two cubs while hiking alone off-trail.

The man was grabbed and shaken, but released after deploying his bear spray at the grizzly.

He suffered only minor injuries.

According to FWP, from mid-September until the grizzly bears den during November is typically a busy time for bear conflicts.