Yellowstone Visitor Encounters Bear While Hiking

Usually, it's Tammie who gets hold of these first, but I managed to get to it before she did this time.

Earlier this week, a visitor to Yellowstone National Park had an up close and personal encounter with a bear.  Thankfully, the visitor was injured, but survived.  This appears to have been a surprise meeting, rather than the visitor doing something ill-advised and getting too close on purpose.

Here's what's known about the bear encounter.

The visitor, a 29 year old male, was hiking alone near the Turbid Lake Trail, which is  northeast of Yellowstone Lake.  When the hiker encountered the bear, he did use bear spray.

The hiker was injured, with what has been described as "significant but non-life-threatening" injuries to the chest and arm.  The hiker was taken by ambulance to the Lake Medical Clinic on the northwest part of Yellowstone Lake.  From there, he was med-evaced to a hospital.

What happens now?

This is still being investigated, so some details have not yet been made public.  What we do know is:

• The Turbid Lake Trail is closed until further notice.
• It is currently unknown what kind of bear the hiker encountered, but it is currently believed to be a grizzly.
• Because this is believed to be a isolated incident, at this time, there are no plans to do anything to the bear if it is identified and located.

What can I do to protect myself from bears in Yellowstone?

The Park Service has some tips to help reduce the chances of a surprise like this.

• Bear spray - Have it on you and be ready to use it.
• Don't hike alone.  Also, make some noise like I suggested in my article for non-hunters
• If you do see a bear, stay at least 100 yards away, but don't run.
• Finally, pay attention to your surroundings.  If you see evidence a bear has been through recently, be careful.