After going viral, Glacier grizzly bear enjoying the limelight
Visitors to the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park are being asked to be aware of this bear, which has been stalking a cow moose and her calves in the area for more than a week. (Brandy Jelley photo)
Warning signs went up along the trails of the north and south shore of Josephine Lake near Many Glacier as the grizzly that killed a moose calf last week continued to frequent the area.
Videos of the confrontation captured by several visitors and workers preparing the Many Glacier Hotel for the upcoming tourist season went viral on social media. Footage showed the grizzly fleeing a cow moose after killing one of its twin calves.
In its scramble to escape the rampaging moose, the bear ran into — and broke — one of the hotel’s glass doors.
The interaction between the bear and moose prompted officials to close the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail on May 29. It was reopened June 1.
Park rangers continued to monitor the situation and were dispatched to Windy Flats on Friday morning as the bear was causing traffic to back up along the road to Many Glacier.
“We are trying to haze the bear away from the populated area right now. That’s really all we are doing at the moment,” park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman said Monday.
She stressed that all visitors should keep their distance from wild animals in the park.
“Visitors should be aware and prepared for bear encounters throughout the year. Late snowpack at higher elevations is causing more bears to be at lower elevations longer than usual, and visitors are having more interactions than normal this year,” Kerzman said. “Visitors are required to keep a distance of at least 100 yards from bears and wolves, and 25 yards from any other wildlife, including nesting birds.”