Bird hunter is knocked down and trampled by a 677lb grizzly in front of his wife before he shoots the enraged bear in Montana

A bird hunter was knocked down and trampled by a 677lb grizzly in front of his wife before he shot the enraged bear in Montana.

He was at the Glacier National Park in Montana on Tuesday afternoon hunting on private property with his wife and their dogs when the bear knocked him over, charged and stepped on him.

It was alleged that trouble ensued between the animal and the man as the bear was surprised by him.

The man had been trying to flush out a bird and the grizzly advanced on him from the brush in a creek bottom east of Choteau.

Defending himself, the man shot at the bear with a handgun and shotgun and the bear fled, wounded.

After the man left with his wife and dogs, they told authorities and he spent Tuesday evening in hospital. He had suffered no claw or bite marks.

The 51-year-old and his wife, are from Washington state, but were not named.

The bear was found by a drone and euthanised due to the injuries it suffered after a decision by bear management specialists and game wardens.

This was decided even though the animal is protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

It comes after a man was fatally attacked by a grizzly bear in March.

The remains of Craig Clouatre, 40, of Livingston, were discovered by Park County Search and Rescue near Yellowstone National Park.

Clouatre went missing after hiking in the Six Mile Creek area of Paradise Valley on Wednesday, according to The Living Enterprise.

Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler confirmed Clouatre’s death in a statement.

‘It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing this update. After an extensive search this morning we have located Craig,’ Bichler wrote. ‘It appears he had an encounter with a grizzly and unfortunately did not survive.’

‘Please keep his family and all those involved in your thoughts and prayers.’

Since 2010, grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have killed at least eight people.

Among them was a backcountry guide killed by a bear last year along Yellowstone’s western border. Guide Charles ‘Carl’ Mock was killed in April after being mauled by a 400-plus pound male grizzly while fishing alone at a favorite spot on Montana´s Madison River, where it spills out of the park.

Grizzlies are protected under federal law outside Alaska. Elected officials in the Yellowstone region are pushing to lift protections and allow grizzly hunting.

The Yellowstone region spanning portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has more than 700 bears.

Fatal attacks on humans are rare but have increased in recent decades as the grizzly population grew and more people moved into rural areas near bear habitat.

This article by Olivia Devereux-Evans was first published by The Daily Mail on 14 October 2022. Lead Image: He was at the Glacier National Park in Montana on Tuesday afternoon hunting on private property with his wife and their dogs when the bear knocked him over, charged and stepped on him. Pictured: A grizzly bear in Montana.

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