A 72-year-old Montana man shot and killed a female grizzly bear on Friday after being ambushed. The man was out picking huckleberries in Flathead National Forest when the bear charged him, leaving him badly injured, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks authorities who spoke to the Associated Press. The attack left the man hospitalized and any of the bear’s potential cubs, motherless. The bear was reportedly protecting its cubs when it charged, according to spokesperson Dillon Tabish. The man then shot the bear with his handgun, killing her. Authorities are now on the search for any potential cubs, but their outlook is grim. “Depending on the age, we might leave them in the wild because they have a better chance of survival, rather than have to euthanize them,” Tabish said. He added there are few facilities with the capability of rehabilitating cubs.
