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Hunter cleared in Montana bear shooting.
Associated Press.
MISSOULA (AP) – A Victor hunter said he shot at and wounded a grizzly bear that was charging him near the area where a Great Falls hunter was mauled by a grizzly while gutting an elk just over two weeks ago.
Richard C. Marcello was hunting with a partner about four miles northeast of Ovando Friday, when he encountered what he believed was a grizzly bear, said Bill Thomas of the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department.
Marcello believed that the bear was charging him, Thomas said, and shot at it from a range of about 16 to 18 feet. Although the bear wasn’t killed, Marcello believed he hit it.
“The hunter’s shot was justifiable under the circumstances,” said FWP game warden Derek Schott after interviewing Marcello.
“The fellow said he saw a bear chasing a deer, and then the bear veered off and came in the hunter’s direction,” Thomas said.
When FWP personnel and Marcello returned to the scene Saturday morning they found a “dime-sized piece of tissue” that indicated the bear was wounded.
Hounds were used to trail the bear for a mile, Thomas said.
“The bear went up and down hills and crossed fences without any apparent problem,” he said. “It did not appear to the trackers that the bear was seriously wounded.”
Dogs were unable to find the bear on Sunday and bear management specialist Jamie Jonkel said he believes the bear has moved out of the area.
The Ovando Mountain area was closed to hunting Friday night, after Marcello reported the shooting. It will open to hunters one half hour before sunrise on Wednesday.
Still, Jonkel cautioned hunters in the Blackfoot drainage to take precautions to avoid conflicts with bears. Unusually mild weather this fall has kept bears active, instead of seeking a den for the winter.
On Oct. 30, hunter Timothy Hilston of Great Falls was killed by a grizzly while gutting an elk in the Blackfoot-Clearwater wildlife Management Area.
Associated Press.
MISSOULA (AP) – A Victor hunter said he shot at and wounded a grizzly bear that was charging him near the area where a Great Falls hunter was mauled by a grizzly while gutting an elk just over two weeks ago.
Richard C. Marcello was hunting with a partner about four miles northeast of Ovando Friday, when he encountered what he believed was a grizzly bear, said Bill Thomas of the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department.
Marcello believed that the bear was charging him, Thomas said, and shot at it from a range of about 16 to 18 feet. Although the bear wasn’t killed, Marcello believed he hit it.
“The hunter’s shot was justifiable under the circumstances,” said FWP game warden Derek Schott after interviewing Marcello.
“The fellow said he saw a bear chasing a deer, and then the bear veered off and came in the hunter’s direction,” Thomas said.
When FWP personnel and Marcello returned to the scene Saturday morning they found a “dime-sized piece of tissue” that indicated the bear was wounded.
Hounds were used to trail the bear for a mile, Thomas said.
“The bear went up and down hills and crossed fences without any apparent problem,” he said. “It did not appear to the trackers that the bear was seriously wounded.”
Dogs were unable to find the bear on Sunday and bear management specialist Jamie Jonkel said he believes the bear has moved out of the area.
The Ovando Mountain area was closed to hunting Friday night, after Marcello reported the shooting. It will open to hunters one half hour before sunrise on Wednesday.
Still, Jonkel cautioned hunters in the Blackfoot drainage to take precautions to avoid conflicts with bears. Unusually mild weather this fall has kept bears active, instead of seeking a den for the winter.
On Oct. 30, hunter Timothy Hilston of Great Falls was killed by a grizzly while gutting an elk in the Blackfoot-Clearwater wildlife Management Area.
