Black bear killed near Red Lodge after attacking girl inside tent

A black bear believed to have attacked and injured a young child inside a tent at a private campground south of Red Lodge on Sunday night was captured and killed by game wardens on Monday, a Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson said Tuesday.

The attack happened around 10 p.m. Sunday and involved a subadult female black bear, according to FWP.

FWP wardens found garbage, a cooler and human food surrounding and inside the tent where the girl was attacked, FWP said.

NBC Montana reported the child who was attacked was a 3-year-old girl; an FWP spokesperson referred questions about the girl’s age and condition to the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, which said Tuesday afternoon it was not involved in the incident and could not provide further details.

FWP said the child was taken to a hospital in Billings. Wardens and bear specialists worked with the campground owner to evacuate the campground by the next morning and to set up traps and snares to catch the bear, spokesperson Chrissy Webb said.

The bear was captured on Monday afternoon and subsequently shot and killed.

“The black bear involved in the incident had no history of conflicts,” Webb said in a news release. “However, the bear had likely become food-conditioned and human-habituated after accessing unsecured attractants in the area.”

FWP said the bear’s physical characteristics matched evidence at the site and the agency believes the bear that was euthanized is the same bear that attacked the girl. Webb told the Daily Montanan that FWP had taken DNA samples in order to confirm whether it was the same bear.

Webb said the region had seen a slight increase in bear activity in recent months compared to usual, but Red Lodge is often a hot spot for bear activity.

There are black and grizzly bears across Montana, and they are more likely to start seeking out any food sources they can find as fall nears and they enter hyperphagia – a phase in which they are eating and drinking as often as they can as they prepare for hibernation.

At all times of the year, people living or camping in bear country are advised to keep food and anything scented out of their tents; use bear-resistant bins or hangs for food and garbage and to follow local food storage orders.