Tim “Bo Tim” Pattison has faced many grizzly bears in his 45 years of hunting and picking up antlers around Big Sky. His foot was once in a sow grizzly’s mouth after he climbed a tree to try to get away from her – when she tried to pull him down.
Two separate grizzly bear attacks resulted in three injured hunters on the west side of the Gravelly Mountain range on Monday according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It is unclear whether one or more bears were involved. FWP is asking hunters to leave the area, and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is closing Cottonwood Road.
Yellowstone grizzly bears are stocking up on food supplies and preparing to enter the next stage of life, which means they may be more visible. Bears consume a wide variety of sustenance throughout the year including army cutworm moths, whitebark pine nuts (WBP), ungulates and cutthroat trout.
Breaking and entering. Damaging rental vehicles. Stealing food. Digging in trash. Distracting drivers. The rap sheet is a mile long.
The offenders in question: black bears.
The wet, cool weather of the past week has kept the bears close to the roads around Tower as they work the grass in the lower elevations. On one day, we got really lucky and saw nine black bears before 10 a.m. One sow with triplets was in view for about an hour just before the Tower Junction.