A Glacier National Park employee was hospitalized after surprising what is believed to be a grizzly bear and her two cubs.
Picking huckleberries near Red Rock Falls, the park employee suffered injuries to the back of her legs and her hands after she was unable to deploy her bear spray during the swift attack.
Pair of hikers close by heard the attack and were able to assist the victim back to the trailhead where she was then rushed to Blackfeet Community Hospital before being transferred to Kalispell regional medical center, where she continues to be monitored for potential infections.
This time of year brings an increase in bear sightings as many wild berries are in full bloom. Just the same as the bears a foraging for huckleberries and the like, park visitors are also allowed to collect up to one quart of the sweet berries, increasing the likelihood of bear encounters.
It has yet to be confirmed that it was a grizzly bear that attacked the woman, but witnesses close by reported seeing a grizzly with two cubs fleeing the area shortly after the attack.
This was the first bear attack in the park since September 2015 when a man was “grabbed and shaken” by a grizzly sow after startling her and her cubs while hiking off trail near Mount Henkel.
