If you’ve ever bet your friends that you could beat a grizzly bear in a fight, you may want to rethink the wager, as not all encounters with the beasts end happily. However, luckily for one hunter, it did when a nearly 700-pound bear charged him in Glacier National Park.
The man, who was only identified by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as 51 years old and from Washington state, suffered several injuries after his encounter with the beast. However, none of them were life-threatening.
The 51-year-old was hunting for birds on private property with his wife when the grizzly charged at him out of thick brush in the park on Tuesday, department spokesperson Dave Hagengruber shared with the Associated Press.
The man’s dogs had gone on point, and when he turned to flush the birds, the male bear weighing 677-pounds came after him, knocked him on his back, and stepped on him, Hagengruber shared.
Then, with his firearms still on him, the man shot the bear with his shotgun and handgun, wounding the animal before it went back to the brush it attacked him from, officials shared.
After the grizzly retreated, the couple left the area and notified the authorities of what happened. The bear was then later located by a drone, according to Hagengruber.
The man did not suffer claw or bite marks, but he still spent the night on Tuesday in the hospital under the direction of medical professionals.
The grizzly bear is protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, but the animal that attacked the man was euthanized after state and federal wildlife officials decided the injuries it sustained were too great.
No other incident was known to have occurred between the bear and humans, and bear managers had never handled it either, according to officials.
Officials determined from the evidence collected at the site that the attack resulted from a surprise encounter.
The department has shared that it will offer bear safety seminars for hunters to be as safe as possible and avoid encounters at all costs.
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