Yellowstone grizzly attacks injured four people in two different incidents, including an attack on hikers who surprised a sow and her cub in the popular tourist area of Canyon Village, it was reported in the Christian Science Monitor on Aug. 17.
In the first of the Yellowstone grizzly attacks, two hikers were attacked on a trail near Canyon Village on Thursday in the north-central portion of the park when they came across a mother grizzly bear and her cub, Yellowstone National Park officials said.
Park officials said they would not pursue the grizzly since it was simply acting on a natural instinct to protect her cub. In some cases, grizzlies that attack humans are tracked down and killed.
The two victims of this grizzly attack were not immediately identified. One of the grizzly attack victims was treated at a hospital for bite and claw wounds and released and the other was treated at the scene.
The hikers in the Yellowstone grizzly attacks said that they used their bear spray and laid on the ground and “played dead” when the bear attacked them, doing exactly as park officials warn visitors.
The second of the grizzly attacks actually occurred on the same day as the Yellowstone grizzly attacks but about 70 miles away in Idaho. In that grizzly attack, two Bureau of Land Management contract workers were attacked, CBS News reported. A grizzly was said to have appeared suddenly from under a tree and attacked the two workers, biting one in the thigh and buttocks and the other in the hand as he deployed bear spray.
The two BLM workers, who also were not identified, were treated at an Idaho hospital and released.
Grizzly attacks in Yellowstone and surrounding areas have become more common in recent years with the growing population of bears. Wild grizzlies have killed four people in the Yellowstone region over the past three years.
Yellowstone National Park advises visitors about bear attacks, including avoiding bear attacks, use of bear spray and what to do if a grizzly does attack.
