A grizzly that accidentally inflicted a burst of pepper spray while attacking a hiker in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park it will not be captured or killed because it may have been trying to protect a cub, park officials said in a statement.
While mauling a hiker on Signal Mountain, the grizzly bit into the man's can of bear repellant and was hit with a blast, causing the animal to flee. The 35-year-old Massachusetts man, who pretended to be dead while being bitten, made it to safety and spent Sunday night in the hospital.
It was not known when Signal Mountain or a road and trail to its 7,700-foot (2,300-meter) summit would reopen after being closed due to the attack. These closures are typical after the few grizzly attacks on public lands in the Yellowstone region each year.
The decision not to pursue the bears, which officials determined were behaving naturally after being startled, was also consistent with attacks that do not involve raiding campsites, eating food left by people or similar behaviors that make bears are more dangerous.
Rangers track and study many of the 1,000 bears in the Yellowstone region, but were not familiar with those responsible for Sunday afternoon's attack, the statement said.
The attack occurred even though the victim was wearing bear spray and making noise to alert bears in the woods, the statement said.
Speaking to rangers afterwards, the man said he encountered a small bear that ran away from him. As he grabbed his bear repellant, he saw a larger bear charging at him in his peripheral vision.
He didn't have time to use his bear spray before he fell to the ground with his fingers tied behind his neck and one finger holding the spray canister.
The bear bit him several times before biting into the can of pepper spray, which exploded and drove the bears away.
The man reached an area with cell phone coverage and called for help. A helicopter and then an ambulance evacuated him to a nearby hospital.
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Investigators suspect from the man's description that the smaller bear he saw was a larger cub belonging to the female grizzly he attacked. Mother bears aggressively defend their offspring and stay with them for two to three years after birth.
Park officials did not release the victim's name. He was expected to make a full recovery.
Last Grizzly Attacks
The attack in Grand Teton National Park came just days after a man in Canada suffered “significant injuries” after being attacked by a grizzly bear while hunting with his father.
Last fall, a Canadian the couple and their dog were killed by a grizzly bear while backpacking in Banff National Park. A few weeks before that, a hunter in Montana was severely damaged by a grizzly bear.
Last July, a grizzly bear fatally maimed a woman on a logging road west of Yellowstone National Park. The bear was later euthanized after breaking into a home near West Yellowstone in August.
Also that month, a 21-year-old woman who was planting trees seriously injured by a bear in British Columbia. Canadian officials were unable to locate the animal, but believe it was a grizzly bear that attacked the woman.
Grizzly bears in the contiguous 48 states are protected as a threatened species, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Last month, the US National Park Service announced it was launching a campaign to capture grizzly bears in Yellowstone Park for research purposes. The agency urged the public to stay away from areas with traps, which would be clearly marked
