Enlarge image
A bear trap has been set up at the campsite
Photo: Tom Bauer / dpa
A grizzly bear attacked and fatally injured a female camper in the northwestern United States. The animal, which weighs around 180 kilograms, pulled the 65-year-old out of her tent in the small town of Ovando at night, said the Wildlife and Park Administration (FWP) of the state of Montana. A bear was shot dead on Friday morning very close to the crime scene. The park administration assumes that it is the same bear that attacked the woman. The bear was shot after attacking a chicken coop. DNA samples from the bear are now to be compared with samples from the scene of the attack on the woman.
Traps had been set in the hunt for the bear, said FWP spokesman Greg Lemon. A helicopter was also used at times. With less than 100 inhabitants, Ovando is a popular transit point for day trippers. It is located in a region with extensive forests near Glacier National Park. An estimated 1,000 bears live in the area. "It's not normal bear behavior," Lemon said. The animals are usually only so aggressive when they are defending food or their young. Therefore, permission was given to shoot the grizzly. The campsites in the area have been temporarily closed.
The victim, a retired nurse from California, was on a long bike ride with her sister and a friend, according to the sheriff.
The attack occurred on Tuesday night when the trio was staying in Ovando.
As the park administration announced, the campers were initially woken up by the noises of the bear.
They then took the food out of the tents and stowed it safely somewhere else.
The grizzly then disappeared.
About half an hour later, however, he returned and attacked the woman sleeping alone in the tent.
Her companions were able to drive the animal away with bear spray, but the 65-year-old was so seriously injured that she died.
Grizzlies were once almost extinct and have been under protection in the United States since 1975.
A bear attack with a fatal outcome had last occurred in the area in April.
kim / dpa
