Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reports woman was injured in a bear attack Monday evening while walking her dog on the Cedar Flats trail complex north of Columbia Falls. State and federal wildlife investigators are currently investigating the attack. The species of the bear has not yet been determined.
The attack occurred around 7:00 p.m. on August 31st. Investigators with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service were assisted by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office as they searched for the bear overnight using a thermal infrared drone but were unsuccessful. The Forest Service has closed the area as a public safety precaution.
The woman sustained significant injuries and was taken to Logan Health Medical Center for treatment. The investigation is ongoing, and both agencies declined to release further details Tuesday.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recommends carrying accessible bear spray, staying alert in low-visibility areas, traveling in groups, making noise near dense vegetation or water, avoiding dawn, dusk and nighttime travel, and steering clear of areas where animal carcasses are present.
Learn more about Bear Safety in Montana below:
Bears can be anywhere. Assume their presence and know what to do if you encounter one.
Plan Ahead
- Be prepared to deal with bear encounters.
- Carry bear spray in an accessible place and know how to use it.
- Both grizzly bears and black bears pose a threat. In an encounter, the bear’s behavior, rather than its species, should determine how you respond.
- In any bear encounter, your behavior matters. Bears respond to your actions.
During an encounter with a bear
- Never run away. You cannot outrun a bear. Running may trigger a bear to chase.
- Never approach the bear
- Different situations call for different responses.
- If you see a bear at a distance, the bear appears unaware of you and you can move away undetected, do so quietly when the bear is not looking toward you.
- If you cannot avoid a bear that sees you, stand your ground and watch its behavior. Move away when it disengages.
Various encounter types and what to do
If a bear is not actively engaged with you (looking away, ignoring you, running away or retreating)
- Give the bear space by backing away slowly from the bear and going in the opposite direction of the bear.
If a bear shows agitated/defensive behavior (huffing, jaws clacking, head swaying back and forth, bellowing, swatting the ground, and excessively salivating at the mouth)
- Stand your ground, prepare your bear spray, and speak in a calm manner, until the bear retreats.
If a bear charges or appears ready to charge:
- Stand your ground.
- If it charges, use your bear spray, when the bear comes within 30-60 feet.
- If the bear is going to touch you, go face down on the ground, cover your neck and head as much as possible, and deploy your bear spray in the bear’s face. If you do not have bear spray, play dead if it is a grizzly bear, fight back if it is a black bear.
If a bear follows you, or slowly, purposefully or methodically approaches you:
- Stand your ground.
- Get aggressive: wave your arms and shout vigorously.
- Get spray out and ready.
- Fight back if it makes contact.
If a bear enters or reaches into your tent:
- Use your bear spray.
- Fight back.
