A 72-year-old man used a handgun to fatally shoot a grizzly bear who pounced on him as he was picking huckleberries in Montana, according to authorities.
The unidentified man reportedly suffered "significant injuries" in the attack Thursday by a female grizzly and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. His current condition was not revealed.
He was alone in a section of Flathead National Forest two miled from the northwestern Montana town of Columbia Falls when the attack occurred, said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials.
Officials believe the bear was likely reacting to protect cubs, agency spokesperson Dillon Tabish told the Associated Press.
Cameras have been set up in the area to locate any cubs. But if any are found, it's not clear they would be captured because few facilities take them in, Tabish noted.
"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 told AP.
Grizzly bears have been listed as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1975 in the lower 48 states, making it illegal to "harm, harass or kill these bears, except in cases of self defense or the defense of others."
