Glacier National Park employee recovering after bear attack - East Idaho News
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Glacier National Park employee recovering after bear attack

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GLACIER NATIONAL PARK — A Glacier National Park employee continues recovering tonight after being attacked by a grizzly bear over the weekend.

The woman was picking huckleberries Saturday about a ¼ mile off the Swift Current Pass Trail near Red Rock Falls area when she startled the bear. She was not on-shift at the time.

Park spokesman Tim Rains says hikers reported there was a sow and two cubs leaving the trail shortly after that attack..but specialists cannot confirm that. The woman did not sustain life threatening injuries, which Rains says could be because the attack was defensive, instead of predatory.

“Because it was a non-predatory attack and it was a defensive attack and it was a defensive attack and the bear was in the resource eating, according to our bear management plan the park will focus on the needs of the bear. They’re not technically looking for the bear, but they are not looking for the bear but they are looking for signs of stress so if the bear defecates nearby it’s a sign the bear was stressed out,” Rains said.

The woman attacked was carrying bear spray but couldn’t use it during the incident. The trail has since been reopened while park officials continue their investigation.

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