July 11, 2001 Missoulian article from Whitefish Pilot: Grizzly charges park employees.
CAG Comment
Bear/human conflicts go on and on.
Reintroduction into the Selway Bitterroot Ecosystem is not a good idea because of quality of habitat.
End CAG Comment
GLACIER PARK - A Glacier National Park employee used pepper spray to deter a charging grizzly bear Tuesday morning near Cracker Lake in the Many Glacier Valley.
No one was injured in the incident. The trail has been temporarily closed until the bears move out of the area.
A park biological technician and three volunteers were hiking on the Cracker Lake Trail in the northeastern part of Glacier around 10:30 am, when they encountered a female grizzly bear with two cubs approximately 10 feet away.
The female charged the group but ran away after the biologist discharged her pepper spray. at which time the biologist discharged her pepper spray toward the bear. The group then slowly backed up the trail. They alerted park headquarters by radio and then hiked back out to the Cracker Lake Trailhead.