A grizzly bear has killed a woman in Ovando, Montana in the early morning of July 6, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP). The woman, identified as Leah Davis Lokan of Chico, California was on a long-distance bikepacking trip, says ABC News.
FWP says that the bear entered the town of Ovando, a small town about an hour east of Missoula, and woke up the campers who were sleeping near a post office. At first, the bear ran away. The campers removed food from their tents, secured the food, and returned to their tents. At about 3:30 a.m., the bear returned and attacked the camper, pulling her from her tent.
The other campers, sleeping adjacent to the victim, sprayed the bear with bear spray and he departed the area. FWP have been searching for the bear since.
Officials say the grizzly is about 400 pounds, and a male judging by its behavior and foot prints.
“At this point, our best chance for catching this bear will be culvert traps set in the area near the chicken coop where the bear killed and ate several chickens,” said Randy Arnold, FWP regional supervisor in Missoula in a statement. The bear also got into a chicken coop that night and ate several chickens. FWP says that it will kill the bear if the department finds it due to public safety concerns.
Lokan, according to ABC, was a registered nurse in her 60s and an avid adventurer.
In 2016, a mountain biker was killed by a grizzly in Montana after the rider reportedly collided with the bear on the trail. Grizzly bear attacks remain relatively rare overall, and tend to happen in surprise close encounters.
6 Comments
Jul 9, 2021
1) The woman from California, according to people who rode with her, was very "bear aware", an experienced camper, did not store food in her tent, always hung food a significant distance from the camp site, did not cook near her camp site, etc. Apparently other people camping near her did not always follow these protocols.
2) She was camping next to the post office in the town of Ovando, not out in the bush. The bear apparently ate several chickens in the town prior to attacking the camper.
3) The bear has now been caught in one of the culvert traps set up for it, apparently ID'd by DNA analysis as the culprit bear and euthanized.
This is not usual grizzly behavior, in fact it is quite rare. They are usually quite adept at avoiding people. I volunteer at the wildlife rehab center in Helena. Several years ago the huckleberry crop failed in the mountains, and we had a massive influx of orphaned bear cubs (mostly black bear) that year as the desperate mothers sought food near towns and got into trouble or hit by vehicles resulting in orphaned cubs. That year one black bear even entered Bozeman's high school, a sign of true desperation. Time will tell if this will be a similar year but things are unseasonably dry and hot for this time of year. . It's easy to blame campers, but anyone in town in bear country who leaves pet food out, has unsecured garbage cans out, or keeps filling bird feeders this time of year contributes to bear-human conflicts.
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