Woman Found Dead After Possible Grizzly Attack on Trail Near Yellowstone
Posted 2023-08-02 by
Grizzly tracks were found near the woman’s body
A woman hiking on a trail west of Yellowstone National Park was found dead after a possible grizzly attack.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks said in a statement the woman was found deceased on a trail near West Yellowstone “following an apparent bear encounter” based on grizzly bear tracks at the scene. The department is investigating the possible grizzly attack.
According to NBC News, after the woman’s body was found, rangers issued an emergency closure of the area.
Though the department’s statement acknowledged the woman’s interaction with the bear, it did not confirm her cause of death.
Montana’s grizzly bear population and sightings of the big animals have increased in recent years.
The department stated in a recent news release that staff had confirmed grizzly bear sightings throughout the state, “particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and the Great Yellowstone ecosystems.”
They warned those camping and visiting parks to carry bear spray, store their food while outside, and tend to their garbage.
A "food-conditioned" grizzly bear was recently euthanized at Glacier National Park, about 670 miles north of Yellowstone, after it began to exhibit "increasingly aggressive behavior,” according to the park service.
