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A grizzly bear, like the one in this file photo, attacked a hiker in the Haskill Basin Sunday.
A man was attacked by a grizzly while he and his daughter were hiking in Haskill Basin on Sunday.
They were hiking with their two dogs along a gated road on F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. property about 3.5 miles northeast of Whitefish, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The man suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The father and daughter accidentally walked between what is believed to be an adult female grizzly and her cubs. The bears had been feeding on a deer carcass hidden about 35 yards off the road.
The bear charged passed the daughter, who was walking the dogs on leashes, and attacked the father.
The man was able to deploy pepper spray during the attack causing the bear to run off the road. The two cubs reportedly crossed the road during the attack.
The father was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, which included bites to the head, shoulder and wrist.
FWP personnel Monday morning removed the deer carcass and set up trail cameras to begin monitoring the site. On Tuesday wildlife officials returned and found that the cameras had not captured any pictures of the bears.
The area where the attack occurred is comprised of both Stoltze land and Haskill Basin land between Wisconsin Avenue and Haskill Basin Road.
Following the attack, FWP worked with Stoltze to close the area where the attack occurred. Tuesday that area was refined to include only Stoltze land in section 21 and state land in section 16 located west of Haskill Creek Road and east of Wisconsin Avenue. The area will be closed until further notice as wildlife biologists note that other bears may be present in the area.
The area initially was closed in a larger area including west of Haskill Creek Road and Haskill Basin Road east to Wisconsin Avenue.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Services’ Grizzly Bear Coordinator is working with FWP to plan further actions, which will be determined by monitoring the area.
FWP currently has not set traps for the bears.
FWP’s Wildlife Human Attack Response Team is also investigating the incident.