Man bitten by grizzly in Haskill Basin, fends it off with bear spray
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 hiking in Haskill Basin on Sunday.
According to a release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, a man and his daughter were hiking with their two leashed dogs along a gated road on F.H. Stoltze land about three and a half miles northeast of Whitefish. The father and daughter accidentally walked between what FWP believes was an adult female grizzly and her cubs that had been feeding on a deer carcass cached by the bears about 35 yards off the road. The bear charged past the daughter and attacked the man. During the attack the man deployed pepper spray and the bear ran off the left side of the road. The investigation further showed that the father and daughter unknowingly walked between the sow and her cubs. The two cubs crossed the road from right to left during the attack.
FWP personnel returned to the attack site Monday morning. They removed the deer carcass and set up trail cameras to begin monitoring the site and area.
The man was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, including bites to the wrist, shoulder, and head. FWP worked with Stoltze and posted and closed the area where the attack occurred. The closure includes Stoltze land in the Haskill Basin area, west of Haskill Creek Road and Haskill Basin Road east to Wisconsin Ave. The area will be closed until further notice.
FWP is currently not trapping for the bears. FWP’s Wildlife Human Attack Response Team is investigating the incident and it is still currently under investigation. The team is comprised of wardens and biologists trained for investigating these incidents.