Woman found dead after grizzly bear ‘encounter’ near Yellowstone

globalnews.ca:

grizzly bear encounter” near Yellowstone National Park, leading park officials to close the surrounding area to other hikers, according to a statement from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.Though the department’s statement said the death appeared to have followed the woman’s interaction with the bear, it did not confirm her cause of death.Park officials noted that grizzly bear tracks were found at the scene, but the investigation into the woman’s death is ongoing.The woman was found Saturday morning on the Buttermilk Trail near West Yellowstone, a Montana town nestled in the Custer Gallatin National Forest just west of Yellowstone National Park. Park officials have issued an emergency closure of the Buttermilk area “for human safety.”The attack comes amid a rise in Montana’s grizzly bear population and an increase in sightings in recent years.The department put out a news release last week warning visitors that staff had confirmed grizzly bear sightings throughout the state, “particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and the Great Yellowstone ecosystems.”They implored those camping and visiting parks to carry bear spray, store their food while outside and tend to their garbage.After the discovery of the deceased woman on Saturday, officials are reminding parkgoers to travel in groups and not to approach bears.Visitors can look out for signs of bears such as scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned-over rocks, and partly consumed animal carcasses.