Grizzly Bear Attacks Hiking Party Member

A grizzly bear Monday attacked a man from South Carolina after he and three hiking companions dropped to their knees and covered their heads, park officials said.

Kevin League, 20, of Greenville, S.C., received four punctures on his left side but still walked from the scene with the help of rangers. League, an employee of Glacier Park Inc., was treated at the Browning hospital and released.

The hiking party rounded a curve in the Cracker Lake Trail and observed the bear about 40 yards away, said Amy Vanderbilt, a Glacier National Park spokeswoman. The hikers reported the grizzly charged, even though they had been making noise in an attempt to keep from surprising and alarming bears.

Park officials said the animal was a sow with cubs and acted defensively when she attacked League about 1 miles from the trailhead in the eastern area of the park. No action against the bear is planned.

On Sunday, however, rangers shot and killed a female black bear that swiped at a teenager and scratched him. The boy and his mother backed away from the animal as it was repelled by a ranger with a large stick.

Vanderbilt said the bear had become too accustomed to humans and tampered with trash cans. In early June, the bear crawled into the back of a park maintenance truck, she said.

The bear was shot on U.S. 2 about 20 miles southeast of West Glacier after a bear research center in Washington declined to take the animal.

, DataTimes