A Popular Glacier National Park Trail Is Closed After a Bear Attack

A popular trail in Glacier National Park remains closed after a bear attack landed one man in the hospital last week.

The 35-year-old Washington state resident  was hiking with friends on the Highline Trail near the Grinnell Glacier Overlook on September 19 when he encountered a bear at close range, the park service said in a statement. The bear then bit him on the knee before his friends managed to drive it off with bear spray.

The man’s companions contacted authorities via a satellite messenger and bandaged his wound with a first aid kit. He then managed to hike more than a mile to a rescue helicopter before being taken to an ambulance, and eventually a hospital in Whitefish.

“The hiking party was walking into the wind and faced foggy conditions, which could have contributed to the encounter,” John Waller, supervisory wildlife biologist, said in the statement. “They were well prepared with bear spray, a satellite communication device, a first aid kit, were hiking as a group, and kept their cool when dealing with the bear.”

Based on information from the man’s hiking companions, park biologists believe the animal involved was a grizzly bear, most likely a male. Authorities said the park would not take any action against the bear due to the surprise nature of the encounter. Since the attack, the trail has remained shuttered between Haystack Butte and Granite Park Chalet; the park says that the trail will open once rangers determine the bear is no longer in the area.

Bear attacks are uncommon across the United States, yet this attack was the second one in Montana in about a month. A black bear attacked a 3-year-old girl in a tent just north of Yellowstone National Park just a few weeks prior to this incident.

While neither black or grizzly bears aren’t necessarily more aggressive during the fall, they do tend to become more active prior to hibernating as they work around the clock to pack on as many calories as possible. Estimates suggest that adult black bears attempt to consume about 20,000 calories every day before hibernation in order to sustain themselves. This instinct can bring them into contact with people, as the bears may investigate anything from cooking odors to garbage.

In August, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (FWP) warned the state’s Great Falls Tribune that bears were entering “feeding mode” and that hikers, hunters, and other recreators should use caution.

“Right now is the time period people need to be especially diligent,” Jamie Jonkel, a wildlife management specialist for the agency, told the newspaper.

In a fact sheet posted in early September for Bear Aware Month, FWP wrote that bears “are often very active this time of year as they are looking for high-calorie food sources before hibernation, and that people recreating in bear country should carry a deterrent, maintain awareness of their surroundings, especially in woods or brushy areas where visibility is limited.

Autumn also comes with a higher probability of wildlife-related car crashes, which is the leading cause of death for black bears in parks like Yosemite for the same reason that bear encounters are more frequent at this time of year.