Grizzly bear attack in Amarillo National Park

A woman was found dead on a Montana hiking trail Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear near Yellowstone National Park. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement that the unidentified woman was found dead near West Yellowstone, a Montana town located in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, just west of the famed national park.

They said the woman was found “after an apparent encounter with a bear” based on what investigators determined were grizzly bear tracks at the scene. The department said the investigation into the grizzly bear attack was ongoing in what is the latest attack by wild animals this summer.

Rangers issued an emergency lockdown of the area where the woman was found, which is popular with hikers. Although the department’s statement said the death appeared to have followed the woman’s interaction with the bear, it did not officially confirm her cause of death. The attack comes amid a surge in the Montana brown bear population and a rise in sightings.

Amber Harris was injured last week

The department issued a news release last week advising visitors that staff had confirmed sightings of grizzly bears throughout the state, “particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and Great Yellowstone ecosystems.” Officials implored campers and park visitors to bring bear spray, store their food while outside and dispose of their trash properly.Last week, Amber Harris, 47, was gored by a bison during a trip to Yellowstone that left her with seven spinal fractures.

She suffered “significant injuries to her chest and abdomen,” including spinal fractures and two collapsed lungs. The attack derailed her fiancé’s travel plans, forcing him to pop the question while she lay in a hospital bed. ‘So my love knelt by my hospital bed last night and formally asked me to be his wife. Without hesitation I said ‘yes!’ The attack was the second in days in National Parks, as a woman was previously gored by a bison in a North Dakota park.

Harris updated friends and family with a Facebook post from her hospital bed, where she shared two important updates. “We have been planning this vacation to Yellowstone NP for about a year. So excited to spend quality time with Chris Whitehill and my daughter Rylee Eckblad. We woke up our first morning and walked to the lodge for coffee, then decided to take a drive through a field to get to Yellowstone Lake,” Harris wrote.

There were a few other people and about 20 moose roaming around, so we waited for them to clear up before walking through the field. About halfway through the water we noticed 2 bison. 1 on the way we were going and the other in the opposite direction. “We stopped and looked at the huge beast, about 50 meters away on the road, hidden at first in the shadows of the trees. We saw it fall and roll on the ground, just like a dog would. He stood up and began to walk and then run towards us.

“I was carried off the field on a stretcher to an ambulance and then transferred to a helicopter for a life flight to Idaho. Pain meds, CT scan, MRI and I suffered seven spinal fractures, collapsed lungs bilaterally and bruises all over. Glory to God all my vitals are looking good,’ she wrote. Harris revealed that her boyfriend, Chris, had been planning to propose to her during their outdoor vacation.

When that plan fell through, Harris said Chris called an audible and asked her to marry him in her hospital room. She posted her update along with a photo of her hand sporting her new ring. “Chris had planned a beautiful marriage proposal this week on a natural bridge, but the three of us have been in the hospital since yesterday morning and I won’t be able to leave anytime soon,” she said.

The attack came just days after a Minnesota woman, whose name has not been identified, was gored while she was visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota last weekend. She suffered injuries to the abdomen and foot.That unidentified woman was taken to a Fargo hospital, where she was listed in serious but stable condition.Read More……