Hunters fire at grizzly bears attracted by deer carcass
Laura Lundquist
(Missoula Current) Two grizzlies might be either injured or dead after being shot by hunters northeast of Seeley Lake.
On Thursday, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks reported that two people had been hunting on Wednesday morning in the area of the Pyramid Pass Trail in the Swan Range. The FWP release said they’d killed a mule deer buck earlier in the morning about 2 miles from the trailhead. The hunters were hiking back to get the deer when they saw three grizzly bears about 100 yards away running toward them.
The hunters reported that they yelled and waved their arms, but the bears didn’t stop. One hunter shot at and possibly killed two bears and the third bear retreated to the deer carcass, according to the release.
The hunters left and reported the incident to FWP as self-defense, according to the release. The U.S. Forest Service posted signs at the Pyramid Pass Trailhead to alert visitors to the possibility of bear activity.
The FWP release contained no other information except guidelines about how to be bear aware. The FWP guidelines include warnings to use extra caution when retrieving a harvested animal and to carry bear spray and have it accessible. But some bear advocates still have questions.
Jim Miller of Friends of the Bitterroot and Mike Garrity of Alliance for the Wild Rockies wondered if the three bears might have been a sow and two cubs that were feeding on the unguarded dead deer. During the late summer and fall, bears go into hyperphagia, where they’re driven to eat as much as possible before heading into their dens for hibernation. The bears might have been defending the deer they were starting to feed on.
Miller and Garrity also wondered whether the hunters had bear spray. FWP Region 2 spokeswoman Vivaca Crowser said the hunters had bear spray but didn’t have it with them when they saw the bears. They had left it with some other gear when they started hiking up to get the deer.
Since grizzly bears are on the Endangered Species List, any grizzly death is investigated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers. The federal government is still shut down, but Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officers, including refuge law enforcement and criminal investigators, are excepted from the furlough, according to a September 2025 U.S Fish and Wildlife Contingency Plan. Crowser said the Fish and Wildlife Service was notified of the incident.
Mike Bader, consultant to the Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force, said FWP could have used the incident as a better teaching moment to emphasize to hunters not to leave carcasses unattended, but if they do, to approach the carcasses with care and bear spray. It's possible that with better information, the incident might have been avoided. In this case, two hunters walked away, but three bears could have too, Bader said. Now, if a cub was left alone as winter is closing in, ultimately, three bears might be dead.