Pablo bear won't be harmed

No lethal control action is planned for a grizzly bear that mauled a man near Salish Kootenai College in Pablo last week, a tribal spokeswoman said Monday.

Flanked by its two yearling cubs, the bear charged and bit a college student as he was walking along a creek near the campus dormitories.

“It appears that it was a surprise encounter and the bear was defending her cubs,” said Germaine White, information and education specialist with the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes. “No lethal control is planned at this point.”

Tribal wildlife officials consulted with Chris Servheen, the federal government’s grizzly bear recovery coordinator, in determining that the bears and the area of the encounter will be monitored closely.

The victim of the attack was bitten three times but did not suffer life-threatening injuries. He initially was treated at St. Luke’s Hospital in Lake County and later transferred to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for additional treatment. 

White said she is concerned that the general public is still not taking proper precautions at a time when black bears and grizzly bears are active at low elevations.

“People are reminded that the most effective thing they can do is carry bear spray and make noise and travel with two or three people or larger groups,” White said. “If you let the bear know you’re there, oftentimes they retreat from the area.”