MFWP kills grizzly sow, sends cubs to zoo

GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST, MT. — The female grizzly bear that mauled a Michigan man to death this week was euthanized Friday afternoon after DNA test results confirmed she was the bear responsible for the attack. The grizzly also injured two people at Soda Butte Campground on the Gallatin National Forest northeast of Yellowstone National Park. Her three yearling cubs that may have participated in the attacks will be sent to ZooMontana in Billings, officials said.

Bear hair, saliva and tissue samples collected by investigators and tested at a forensics lab in Laramie, Wyo., proved that the sow attacked three people at the Soda Butte Campground near Cooke City, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks MFWP) officials said.

Wildlife experts have no explanation for who the bear or brears attacked the victims, who were all asleep in their tents. All three victims had followed the rules and stored their food in metal bear-proof containers.

The last time a bear mauled a human seemingly without provocation in the Yellowstone region was 1984, when a grizzly killed a backpacker in a campsite south of Hebgen Lake.

It took wildlife officials about 36 hours to trap the mother and her three cubs and on Friday morning, all four were transported in cages from Cooke City to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Region 3 headquarters in Bozeman. The bears arrived at about 10 a.m., said Andrea Jones, information officer, and were held until the DNA results were obtained.

Once the test results were received, the sow's fate was sealed. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee guidelines, an agreement among eight state and federal agencies, rule that grizzly bears that display "unprovoked aggressive behavior toward humans," or cause substantial human injury, including loss of life, be "removed from the population," according to a release from the agency.

An autopsy will be performed on the bear to see if any physical ailments or conditions might have contributed to its aggressive behavior. Evidence indicates that the sow led its cubs in targeted attacks on the campers.

Jackie Worstell, ZooMontana's executive director, said the cubs would join its grizzly exhibit, which already features a Eurasian brown bear and another grizzly from Yellowstone.

According to wildlife officials, the 300- to- 400-pound sow began its rampage at the Soda Butte Campground around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. The investigation revealed that all three cubs likely participated in the attack on Kevin Kammer, 48, of Grand Rapids, Mich., who was pulled from his tent and dragged 25 feet. His body, found by investigators Wednesday morning, had been partially consumed.

Fibers from a tent or sleeping bag were in the droppings of the captured bears, and a tooth fragment found in a tent appears to match a chipped tooth on the sow.

The other two victims — Deb Freele, 58, of London, Ontario, Canada, and Ronald Singer, 21, of Alamosa, Colo. — were bitten and treated at West Park Hospital in Cody, Wyo.

Singer was released from the hospital Thursday.

Freele underwent surgery Friday for bite wounds and a broken bone in her arm and was expected to remain in the hospital at least until Saturday.

The Soda Butte Campground and the nearby Chief Joseph and Colter campgrounds, all in the Gallatin National Forest, remain closed.

This is part of the July 29, 2010 online edition of The Island Park News.

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