A bear attacked a solo hiker in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday, causing serious but non-life-threatening injuries to the man’s chest and left arm.
The 29-year-old man was on the Turbid Lake Trail inside the park, which covers parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, when he ran into and surprised the bear, Yellowstone officials said in a release.
The man, unnamed by officials, used bear spray and was injured on his chest and arm by the bear in exchange. National Park Service medics reached the scene and walked with him 2.5 miles back to a trailhead, then drove him to a clinic in an ambulance and from there flew him to a hospital for treatment.
The hiker thought the bear involved was a black bear, but Yellowstone officials said that based on the bear’s location, behavior and size, it could have been a grizzly.
Park officials closed the Turbid Lake Trail until further notice. Since the bear attacked only as a defensive maneuver in a surprise encounter with a person, the park isn’t going to take any “management actions” against the bear.
The incident was the first bear-caused injury to a person in Yellowstone in 2025 and the first such incident since 2021, park officials said.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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