Karl Puckett

kpuckett@greatfallstribune.com

A grizzly bear mauled a Montana hunter Sunday morning in a surprise encounter 15 miles west of Choteau, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The man was in an elk hunting party on a creek bottom on private property near the Ear Mountain Wildlife Management Area on the Rocky Mountain Front, said Capt. Dave Holland, FWP’s head game warden in Great Falls-based Region 4.

He was mauled at about 9 a.m. by a female grizzly with two cubs, he said.

“It appears the sow was protecting her cubs at this point,” Holland said late Sunday afternoon.

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The man was taken by private vehicle to the clinic in Choteau. From there he was flown by helicopter to Benefis Health System in Great Falls.

Holland described the man’s injuries as serious.

“It’s serious enough he had to be Mercy flighted,” Holland said.

Based on the initial investigation, it appears that the encounter was a surprise with the sow defending her cubs of the year.

The man was not retrieving game at the time, Holland said.

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“I’m confident it’s not a predatory attack,” Holland said.

FWP officials plan to visit the mauling sight Monday morning, he said.

The man did not fire any shots at the bear, which ran off after mauling the man, FWP said.

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