A woman was found dead on a Montana hiking trail Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear along Yellowstone National Park.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement that the unidentified woman was found dead near West Yellowstone, a Montana town located in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, just west of the famed national park.
They said the woman was found dead “after an apparent encounter with a bear” based on what investigators determined were grizzly bear tracks at the scene.
The department said the investigation into the grizzly bear attack was ongoing in what is the latest attack by wild animals this summer.
Rangers issued an emergency lockdown of the area where the woman was found, which is popular with hikers.
An unidentified woman was found dead in Montana on Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear.
The attack occurred on a trail in Montana, west of Yellowstone National Park.
Although the department’s statement said the death appeared to have followed the woman’s interaction with the bear, it did not officially confirm the cause of her death.
The attack comes amid a surge in the Montana brown bear population and a surge in sightings.
The department issued a news release last week advising visitors that staff had confirmed sightings of grizzly bears throughout the state, “particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and Great Yellowstone ecosystems.”
Officials implored campers and park visitors to bring bear spray, store their food while outside and dispose of their trash properly.
Amber Harris and her now-fiancé Chris Whitehill had what was supposed to be a romantic nature-filled vacation cut short when Harris was gored by a bison on her first day in Yellowstone.
Last week, Amber Harris, 47, was gored by a bison during a trip to Yellowstone that left her with seven spinal fractures.
He suffered ‘significant injuries to his chest and abdomen’, including spinal fractures and two collapsed lungs.
The attack derailed her fiancé’s travel plans, forcing him to pop the question while she lay in a hospital bed.
‘So my love knelt by my hospital bed last night and formally asked me to be his wife. Without any hesitation I said “yes!”
The attack was the second in days in National Parks, as a woman was previously gored by a bison in a North Dakota park.
Harris updated friends and family with a Facebook post from her hospital bed, where she shared two important updates.
“We have been planning this vacation to Yellowstone NP for about a year. So excited to spend quality time with Chris Whitehill and my daughter Rylee Eckblad. We woke up our first morning and walked to the lodge for coffee, then decided to take a drive through a field to get to Yellowstone Lake,” Harris wrote.
Harris posted the update on her goring and engagement along with a photo of her hand sporting her new ring.
“There were a few other people and about 20 moose roaming around, so we waited for them to clear up before walking across the field.” About halfway through the water we noticed 2 bison. 1 on the way we were going and the other in the opposite direction.
“We stopped and looked at the huge beast, about 50 meters away on the road, hidden at first in the shadows of the trees. We saw it fall and roll on the ground, just like a dog would. He stood up and began to walk and then run towards us.
“I was carried off the field on a stretcher to an ambulance and then transferred to a helicopter for a life flight to Idaho. Pain meds, CT scan, MRI and I suffered seven spinal fractures, bilaterally collapsed lungs and bruises all over. Glory to God all my vitals are looking good,’ she wrote.
Harris revealed that her boyfriend, Chris, had been planning to propose to her during their outdoor vacation.
When that plan fell through, Harris said Chris called an audible and asked her to marry him in his hospital room. She posted her update along with a photo of her hand sporting her new ring.
“Chris had planned a beautiful marriage proposal this week on a natural bridge, but the three of us have been in the hospital since yesterday morning and I won’t be able to leave anytime soon,” she said.
The attack came just days after a Minnesota woman, whose name has not been identified, was gored while visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota last weekend. She suffered injuries to the abdomen and foot.
that nameless woman She was taken to a Fargo hospital, where she was listed in serious but stable condition.
A video shows another woman taking a selfie, just inches from the massive beast in Yellowstone National Park.
A man was photographed pulling a baby bison from the bank of the Lamar River on May 20. He was later euthanized after his pack rejected him. Yellowstone National Park staff are now trying to identify the man.
The first attack is under investigation as the exact details are unknown. Park superintendent Angie Richman did not immediately respond to an email requesting information.
Park officials reminded visitors that bison are big, powerful and wild, and can turn fast and outrun people.
Bulls can be aggressive during the rutting season from mid-July to August. Park regulations require visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from large animals.
The National Park Service offers a complete guide to protect yourself of the animals when visiting.
Last week’s attack was the first known bison attack on a person in Yellowstone in more than a year. Bison injured two people at the park in 2022.
In May 2023, Yellowstone tourists were filmed walking away from a dangerous bison encounter after attempting to pet them.
One video, which was posted by ‘TouronsOfYellowstone’ and credited to Russ Bjorn on Instagram, shows a woman reaching out her hand in an attempt to touch the bison.
The bison seemed about to lunge forward.
The woman jumped back in a panic, falling over herself as other members of the group screamed. The beast showed leniency, choosing not to react.
When a bison moves its head, legs, bellows or snorts, it may be warning that an individual is too close and that a charge is imminent.
In 2015, Yellowstone National Park officials released a graphic pamphlet showing a man being gored by a bison in an attempt to get tourists to avoid the creatures.
In 2021, a 25-year-old tourist from Yellowstone was jailed for four days after coming within feet of a grizzly bear and her cubs to take a photo.
Also arrested in the summer of 2018 was a man who was seen on video attempting to go toe-to-toe with a bison, harassing and taunting it in Yellowstone National Park.
Sometimes the animal will spontaneously attack.
Last summer, three people were gored by bison in a series of just four weeks in Yellowstone. A 71-year-old Pennsylvania woman was injured after the animal attacked her as she and her daughter were returning to her car at the trailhead.
In 2015, Yellowstone National Park officials released a graphic pamphlet showing a man being gored by a bison in an attempt to get tourists to avoid the creatures.
