Second griz killed by a hunter near Pass

Another sow grizzly was shot and killed by a hunter near Marias Pass. The Nov. 9 incident marks the second time a charging sow grizzly was shot by a hunter in the area this hunting season.

The Great Falls Tribune identified the hunter as Ben Laster, 28, of Kalispell. Laster told the newspaper he regretted having to shoot the bear. He said he had bear spray but couldn't get at it in time.

Laster shot the bear in the Hall Creek area, about two miles south of the pass. The sow had two 2-year-old cubs which should survive - grizzly cubs leave a sow after two years.

The previous incident at Marias Pass also involved a Kalispell hunter. In that case, the man shot and killed a grizzly that was eating an elk he shot.

The hunter had butchered part of the elk and found the bear on the carcass when he returned. The grizzly charged him and he shot the bear. That bear also had two cubs, but they were younger.

Earlier this season, a grizzly charged a hunter near Gibson Reservoir. The man shot at the bear, but it's unclear whether he hit it, Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 4 spokesman Bruce Auchly said.

In another incident on the Rocky Mountain Front, a hunter who found a grizzly bear on an elk he had shot simply let the bear have the elk.

Hunting regulations do not require that hunters carry bear pepper spray, but FWP officials recommend it. The spray has proven effective in cases, and both the bear and hunter will survive an incident.