Global Courant
A grizzly bear cub was beaten and killed near Yellowstone National Park last weekend, leaving behind an angry and confused mother bear.
The incident occurred before dawn on May 26 on US 191. The driver wasn’t sure what hit him, but the collision severely damaged his truck.
According to Yellowstone Guidesthe driver somehow safely walked 200 yards to the tour company’s office, hoping to access a mobile signal and call for help.
Guide David Reeves was outside preparing to pick up customers. He offered the man a ride to his truck after the man called the police and a towing company.
RELATED: Can You Spot the Other Yellowstone Critter in This Photo?
The man said he would walk. But when Reeves got to the scene first, he saw the carcass of a 1-year-old grizzly bear on the highway and a clearly agitated mother bear.
“She was over the carcass and bluffed my vehicle,” Reeves told FTW Outdoors. “I immediately stopped and turned around, knowing the man couldn’t walk there.”
Grizzly bear family near a road this spring in Yellowstone. Photo: ©Pete Thomas
Reeves persuaded the man to accept a ride and, back on site, positioned the tour vehicle so that the man could safely climb into the cab of his truck.
“His truck was ungovernable,” Reeves said. “I told him to wait inside for the sheriff and the tow truck to arrive, that the bear would kill him (if he got out).”
RELATED: Yellowstone tourist weighs options with bison next to the boardwalk
Reeves added: “I may have saved this man’s life, or at least saved him from serious injury. I’m not sure how he got away safely from the crime scene (after the collision), walking down the road unaware of the extreme danger.”
Reeves said when he left to pick up his traveling party, he saw the grizzly sow run away from the carcass against a hill. Soon after, a friend told him that the police had arrived and the carcass had been collected.
Black bear mother and cubs along Yellowstone Road. Photo: ©Pete Thomas
Yellowstone Tour Guides listed on Facebook: “We are glad that our guide was there to prevent this from becoming a much more serious incident.
“This was just an accident and the guy wasn’t speeding as he wasn’t restrained too far beyond the carcass. It was dark making it difficult to see the bear dart across the road in time.”
Yellowstone National Park announced in a press release that two adult male black bears were killed two days later, also on US 191 but in the park.
The park added that a moose and bison were also recently hit and urged visitors to use extreme caution when driving on park roads, especially at night.
– The grizzly bear image at the top of this post is generic, courtesy of ©Pete Thomas
Story originally appeared on For The Win
