Here’s part of an article written about the encounter by Scott McMillion of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle today……

This marks the fifth bear attack on a hunter this year in Park County. Though details are still sketchy, it sounds like this man, whose name was not released, suffered the most severe injuries of the four hunters who were injured this fall.

One swipe from the bear’s paw knocked his eyeball from its socket and severely damaged his face, said Kevin Frey, bear management specialist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, who investigated the attack Tuesday afternoon.

The man was hunting on private land owned by the Church Universal and Triumphant, and was a client of Edwin Johnson, a veteran outfitter there….

…The attack occurred about 9 a.m. after a guide had left the hunter on an open ridgetop surrounded by timber to watch for elk. The guide then accompanied a second hunter who killed a deer about 400 yards away. After field dressing that animal, the guide was returning to the first hunter when he heard a shot, Frey said.

When he reached the man, he found him sitting on the ground, near where he’d left him a short time earlier, and he said he’d been “slapped” or “smacked” by a bear.

“He was slapped once in the face by the bear, but he was slapped hard,” Frey said. “It cut him pretty bad.”……

…The lingering mild weather could be a factor in the most recent attack.

“Weather conditions aren’t real conducive to getting them to den up” for the winter, Frey said. “It’s still worth their time to be looking for food.”

Still pays to be thoughtful when out in the woods these days.

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Tags: Skills: Bear Safety