News

Actions

Grizzly bear euthanized after sustaining traumatic injuries in a fall

Posted at 1:03 PM, Jul 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-18 15:03:48-04

(GREAT FALLS) On Sunday, July 15, at about 11:30 pm, rangers in Glacier National Park discovered a partially paralyzed grizzly bear that had apparently fallen about 20 feet onto the road near Rim Rock, one mile west of Logan Pass.

A press release from the park says that the bear sustained severe traumatic injuries.

After consulting with the park’s wildlife biologist, rangers euthanized the bear.

The National Park Service conducted a necropsy and found significant trauma to the bear’s thoracic vertebrae, broken ribs, and a dislocated hip.

The non-lactating female bear was estimated to be between five and seven years old, and appeared to be in otherwise good health.

Rangers initially thought the bear had been hit by a car, but evidence showed that the bear had slipped off an overhanging precipice and landed on its back in the road.

Park officials notified the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as required by law, since the grizzly bear is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and informed Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks of the incident.

There are an estimated 300 grizzly bears in Glacier National Park.

div[data-mml-type=”relatedcategory”]{border: thin solid #e7e7e7;} .categories-right-icon{display: none;} .stories-area > hr{margin: 0px;} .stories-area > iframe {border: white;} div[data-mml-type]{ overflow: hidden; } div[data-mml-status=”draft”] {display: none !important;} div.fb-post span, div.fb-post span iframe{max-width: 100%;} div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].left, div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].left, div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].left{ float: left; position: relative; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].right,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].right,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].right{ float: right; position: relative; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].center,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center{ width: 100% !important; overflow:hidden; text-align: center;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center iframe,div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center twitterwidget,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].center iframe,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center iframe{ margin: auto !important;}div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center > span{ margin: auto !important; display: block !important;} .mml-display-none{display: none !important;} div[data-mml-type=”gmaps”], div[data-mml-type=”youtube”] {position:relative; width:100%; padding-bottom:56.25%;} div[data-mml-type=”gmaps”] iframe, div[data-mml-type=”youtube”] iframe {position:absolute; left:0; top:0;} div[data-embed-type=”clip”],div[data-mml-type=”clip”]{position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.25%;width: 100%;box-sizing: border-box;} div[data-embed-type=”clip”] iframe { position: absolute;}div[data-embed-type=”social”] {position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.25%;width: 100%;box-sizing: border-box;} div[data-embed-type=”social”] iframe,div[data-mml-type=”clip”] iframe { position: absolute;}.frankly-img{max-width:100%;}.mce-item-table{word-break: break-all;}