Bear shot by hunter still may be prowling

The Daily Inter Lake

A bow hunter apparently wounded a bear Thursday evening that charged him in the South Fork of Canyon Creek in the North Fork Flathead drainage.

The bear appears to have been hit by one or more of the hunter's pistol shots, according to a news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It is not known whether the animal was a black bear or a grizzly bear.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Perry Brown and bear biologist Tim Manley tracked the wounded bear Friday for four or five hours, following a clear blood trail.

After tracking the bear for three or four miles, the men lost the bear's blood trail. It is uncertain if the bear would survive given its substantial blood loss.

However, anyone planning to be in or near the South Fork Canyon Creek drainage should be aware that there still could be a wounded bear in the area.

Brown and Manley found that the bear apparently had been feeding on a grizzly bear carcass when the hunter surprised it. Brown said that there was evidence the grizzly had died several days earlier.

Brown added that the dead grizzly bear may have been killed illegally.

Anyone with information on this bear's death should call 752-5501 or 1-800-TIP-MONT.