Bozeman Bow Hunter Attacked by Bear

A Bozeman bow hunter found himself being attacked by a grizzly bear while hunting in the southern Gravelly Mountains, according to a state game warden.

As a result of the attack, the bow hunter suffered extensive cuts on his head, in addition to a broken right forearm. When describing the incident to officials, he said it was a sudden and fast attack that took place in dense forest.

The game warden explained that the injured man, who was lucky to survive, was bow hunting near Madison River; however, while he had travelled with a friend to the area, at the time of the attack he was by himself as he began to make his way back to his truck.

When it comes to people hunting though, an attack such as this is likely to happen, especially when they choose to hunt in an area that is home to a large number of bears. When hunters dress themselves in camouflage, while walking quietly along, an unexpected confrontation with bears has a high chance of occurring.

And even though the bow hunter was carrying the necessary bear spray for his protection, he was not able to reach it before the bear had reached him.

Earlier this year, FWP released important tips on how bow hunters can remain safe when traversing in bear territory. Some of the tips included carrying and understanding how to correctly utilize the self defense spray; removing meat from the site of a kill and field dressing game animals; in addition to hanging meat that has been left behind in a field that should be no lower than 10 feet off the ground and 150 yards from gut piles.

If a hunter has left meat behind, it should be seen from more than 200 yards away. When he returns he should then observe through binoculars the hanging meat. If he notices that the meat has been disturbed, or a bear is nearby, he should quickly leave the area where he can then inform the FWP.

Furthermore, people thinking about hunting, should always hunt with a partner, and avoid gut piles and any areas where ravens are seen, as these are typically areas that contain carcasses, and potentially bears.

Of course, in order to prevent a bear attack from happening, it is important that when you are in bear territory that you have your bear spray near at hand, so that if it is needed you will only have to reach up to make contact with the spray.