No sign of griz involved in Whitefish attack

Two days after a bear attack near Haskill Basin, there’s been no sign of the grizzly or two cubs having returned to the area, wildlife officials said Tuesday.

A man and his daughter hiking in the area surprised a suspected female adult grizzly and her two cubs feeding on a deer carcass Sunday afternoon about 3.5 miles northeast of Whitefish on F.H. Stoltze Lumber land. The sow’s attack on the man ended when he was able to deploy his pepper spray. He was left with non-life threatening injuries to his head, shoulder and wrist.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks crews set up game trail cameras and removed the deer carcass on Monday hoping to capture the animal on video.

As of Tuesday, those cameras are yet to capture any images of bears. 

“Mainly the cameras will really tell the tale there and give us an idea of what to do in the future,” said Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman John Fraley. 

The agency’s Wildlife Human Attack Response Team, made up of specialized wardens and biologists, is currently investigating the incident. Fraley said the team will continue visiting the area each day for the foreseeable future. How long that process will go on was unclear, although Fraley said he expects the area closure to continue through the weekend.

“It’s just part of the investigation,” Fraley said. “They go in and try to look at the site where the cameras are and see if there’s any sign of return of this bear, or the cubs or any other bear.”

The closure area has been updated to include only on F.H. Stoltze land in Section 21 and state land in Section 16, west of Haskill Creed Road and east of Wisconsin Avenue. Biologists said in a statement from FWP that other bears may be present in this and surrounding areas. 

“We’ve got a recovered grizzly bear population. It’s a reality there’s grizzlies pretty much anywhere in northwest Montana,” Fraley said. 

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.