Just as the summer tourism season begins in Grand Teton National Park, a sudden encounter with two grizzly bears left an unidentified 35-year-old Massachusetts man with serious injuries who was airlifted by helicopter to an ambulance and taken to the hospital. It was discovered. .
The park service said the victim is in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.
The attack occurred on Signal Mountain Summit Road, which leads to the Signal Mountain Trail, a popular 7,723-foot peak on the east shore of Jackson Lake.
This remote region in the northwest corner of Wyoming is home to large numbers of black and grizzly bears, both of which are protected under state and federal law.
A bear waves to the camera in Wyoming. (Jackson Hole Ecotour Adventures) (Jackson Hole Eco Tour Adventure)
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Following the incident, local authorities temporarily closed both the access road and the hiking trail.
There are an estimated 900,000 black bears and approximately 45,000 brown or grizzly bears in North America. Fatal bear attacks are extremely rare, averaging less than one per year since records began. Since 1784, there have been 66 fatalities caused by Asian black bears and 82 fatalities caused by brown bears.
North Slope Borough, Alaska – May 25: A bear cares for three cubs on May 25, 2019 in North Slope Borough, Alaska. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Hikers and outdoor adventurers are much less likely to encounter a grizzly bear than an Asian black bear, but grizzly bears are much larger, making such encounters considerably more dangerous for humans.
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Experts recommend the following safety measures to minimize the possibility of human-bear contact. Pay attention to signs, check websites that may provide information about recent bear encounters, make enough noise and hike in large groups to avoid the possibility of launching a bear. , Bring your own climbing equipment. Carry a can of bear spray when hiking and call authorities if you encounter a bear.
In nearby Yellowstone National Park, just north of Grand Teton National Park, authorities have set up bear traps to monitor and investigate local residents.
Entrance sign along Route 212 at the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park is located on Route 212 a few miles west of Cooke City, Montana, on the way into Wyoming. (Photos by Education Images/Universal Images Group, Getty Images)
Traps will not be set in areas near hiking trails that are heavily trafficked, but the Park Service urges the public to be wary of traps and avoid such areas if encountered. .
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The northwest corner of Wyoming is home to some of the most rugged mountain range in the United States, and hundreds of thousands of people come here in the summer for hiking and mountaineering activities.
Nearby Cody, Wyoming, receives an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 out-of-state tourists during the summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
