Hunter Charged By Grizzly North Of Whitefish

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A hunter was charged by a grizzly bear in Lupfer Meadows in the Lazy Creek drainage north of Whitefish on Sunday morning.   Vic Workman, a FWP Commissioner, was hunting with a companion when they encountered the grizzly.   The grizzly was on a dead whitetail buck that the bear had almost completely buried.   The grizzly charged Workman from about 30 feet away.   Workman yelled at the bear as it ran toward him, and then fired a single round from his rifle from the hip. The bear kept coming but swerved, passing within five feet to Workman’s left.   The men believed that the bear had been hit by the shot.   They left the area and contacted Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks officers.   A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer was also notified and is involved with the investigation of the incident.

 

Today, Workman accompanied FWP Warden Captain Lee Anderson, Warden Chris Crane, and Grizzly Bear Management Specialist Tim Manley back to the site of the incident.   Manley brought along a bear dog to aid in the search for the bear.  

 

According to Anderson, no dead bear was found, and no definite evidence was present that indicated the grizzly had been hit by the shot.   There was no blood or hair that could be found in the immediate area where the shot had been fired.   A thorough search of the area turned up no sign of the bear. However, the whitetail buck had been dug up and dragged about 40 yards from the original location across Lazy creek by what appears to have been a bear.   DNA samples were collected from bear scat at the original location and the location across the creek.   This analysis should determine if the scat was from the same bear or if another bear had visited the site after the incident. Blood samples along the drag trail were also collected; these samples will be analyzed to determine if they originated from the deer or the grizzly.  

 

Anderson added that all evidence observed at the scene confirmed Workman’s description of the incident.   Anderson said, however, that the possibility that the bear was hit couldn’t be ruled out completely.