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Just as the busy summer tourist season is kicking off in Grand Teton National Park, a surprise encounter with two grizzly bears seriously injured an unnamed 35-year-old Massachusetts man, who was airlifted by helicopter to an ambulance which subsequently drove him to the hospital.
The park service stated that the victim is “in stable condition and is expected to fully recover.”
The attack occurred on the Signal Mountain Summit Road, leading to the Signal Mountain Trail, a popular 7,723′ peak on the eastern bank of Jackson Lake.
The remote area, located in the northwestern corner of Wyoming, is home to numerous 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 EcoTour Adventures)
The incident prompted local authorities to temporarily close both the access road and the hiking trail to the public.
North America has an estimated population of 900,000 black bears, and roughly 45,000 brown, or grizzly bears. Fatal bear attacks are extremely rare, averaging less than one per year since the advent of record keeping. Since 1784, there have been 66 fatal attacks attributed to black bears, and 82 fatal attacks attributed to brown bears.
NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH, AK – MAY 25: A bear looks after her three cubs in North Slope Borough, Alaska, on May 25, 2019. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Although hikers and outdoor adventurers are far less likely to encounter grizzlies than black bears, the much larger size of grizzly bears makes such encounters considerably more dangerous for humans.
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Experts recommend the following safety measures in order to minimize chances of human/bear contact: pay attention to signs and check websites which may offer information about recent bear encounters, make plenty of noise and hike in larger groups to avoid potentially startling bears, bring a cannister of bear spray along for the hike, and in the event of encountering a bear bring the incident to the attention of the authorities.
In nearby Yellowstone National Park, which is just to the north of Grand Teton National Park, authorities have been setting up bear traps to monitor and research local populations.
Entrance sign along U.S. Highway 212 at the northeast entrance into Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, The northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park is on US Highway 212 a few miles west of Cooke City Montana as one crosses into Wyoming. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
While the traps will not be placed in areas near hiking trails with frequent foot traffic, the park service urges the public to be vigilant about the traps, and to avoid such areas in the event of coming across them.
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The northwestern corner of Wyoming features some of the most rugged and mountainous terrain in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of summer arrivals for hiking and mountaineering activities.
Nearby Cody, WY receives an estimated 300,000-400,000 out-of-state tourists each summer season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
David Unsworth reports on Latin America. You can follow David Unsworth on Twitter @LatinAmerUpdate
