A woman was found dead on a hiking trail in Montana on Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear near Yellowstone National Park.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement how the unnamed woman was found dead near West Yellowstone, a Montana town nestled in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, just west of the famed national park.
They said the woman was found “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 attack was ongoing in what is the last wildlife attack this summer.
Rangers issued an emergency lockdown of the area where the woman was found, which is popular with hikers.
An unnamed woman was found dead in Montana on Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear (file photo)
The attack took place on a trail in Montana, just west of Yellowstone National Park
While the department’s statement said the death appeared to have been followed by the woman’s interaction with the bear, her cause of death was not officially confirmed.
The attack comes amid an increase in Montana’s grizzly bear population and an increase in sightings.
The department released a press release last week warning visitors that staff had confirmed grizzly bear sightings across the state, “particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and the Great Yellowstone ecosystems.”
Officials implored campers and visiting parks to bring bear spray, store their food outside and properly dispose of their trash.
Amber Harris and her now-fiancée Chris Whitehill had what should be a romantic nature-filled vacation interrupted when Harris was bumped by a bison on their first day in Yellowstone
Last week, Amber Harris, 47, was bumped by a bison on a trip to Yellowstone, leaving her with seven vertebral fractures.
She suffered “significant injuries to her chest and abdomen,” including spinal fractures and two collapsed lungs.
The attack ruined the plans her fiancé had proposed during the trip, instead forcing him to pop the question while she was in the hospital bed.
“So my love got down on one knee next to 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 at 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 some coffee and then decided to take a walk through a field to get to Yellowstone Lake,” Harris wrote.
Harris posted the update on her engagement and engagement alongside a photo of her hand with her brand new ring
“There were a few other people and about 20 moose wandering around, so we waited for them to disappear before moving through the field. About half way out of the water we saw 2 bison. 1 on the path we walked and the other in the opposite direction.
“We stopped and watched the huge beast about 50 yards up the path, hidden at first in the shadow of the tree. We watched him fall and roll in the dirt, like a dog would. He got up and started walking and then ran towards us.
“I was carried from the field on a stretcher to an ambulance and then transferred to a helicopter for a rescue flight to Idaho. Pain meds, CT, MRI and I suffered seven vertebral fractures, bilaterally collapsed lungs and bruises all over. Glory to God, all my vital organs look good,” she wrote.
Harris revealed that her boyfriend, Chris, planned to propose to her during their outdoor vacation.
When that plan got messed up, Harris said Chris called an audible and proposed to her in her hospital room. She posted the update alongside a photo of her hand with her brand new ring.
“Chris had a beautiful marriage proposal planned this week on a natural bridge, but all 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 released, was speared last weekend while visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. She sustained injuries to her abdomen and foot.
That nameless woman was taken to a hospital in Fargo, where she was in serious but stable condition.
A video shows another woman taking a selfie just inches away from the massive beast in Yellowstone National Park
A man was pictured bringing up a buffalo calf from the bank of the Lamar River on May 20. It was later put down after the herd rejected it. Yellowstone National Park officials are now trying to identify the man
The first attack is being investigated as the exact details remain unknown. Parks Inspector Angie Richman did not immediately respond to an email requesting information.
Park officials reminded visitors that bison are large, powerful, and wild, and can quickly and easily outrun humans.
Bulls can be aggressive during the mating season from mid-July to August. Park rules require visitors to stay at least 80 feet away from large animals.
The National Park Service offers one complete guide to protecting yourself of 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 in the park in 2022.
In May 2023, Yellowstone tourists were filmed fleeing a dangerous bison encounter after attempting to pet them.
A video posted by TouronsOfYellowstone, and credited to Russ Bjorn on Instagram, shows a woman reaching out in an attempt to touch the bison.
The buffalo seemed ready to lunge forward.
The woman jumped back in panic and fell over herself as other members of the group screamed. The beast showed clemency and chose not to respond.
When a bison moves its head, legs, bellows or sniffs, it can be a warning that a person is too close and an attack is imminent.
In 2015, Yellowstone National Park officials released a graphic pamphlet drawing of a man being gored by bison in an attempt to evade tourists from the creatures.
In 2021, a 25-year-old tourist from Yellowstone was jailed for four days after coming within a few feet of a grizzly bear and her cubs to take a picture.
In the summer of 2018, a man was also arrested who was videotaped trying to take on, harassing and taunting a bison in Yellowstone National Park.
Sometimes the animal attacks unsolicited.
Last summer in Yellowstone, three people were gored by bison in a series of just four weeks. A 71-year-old Pennsylvania woman was injured after the animal attacked her as she and her daughter were returning to their car at the trailhead.
In 2015, Yellowstone National Park officials released a graphic pamphlet drawing of a man being gored by bison in an attempt to evade the creatures from tourists.