The bear, reported to be an older-age male, was shot and killed on Friday after it charged at a group of game wardens, bear specialists and Forest Service personnel.
A 420-pound grizzly bear mauled a backcountry guide as he was fishing solo nearby his home outside of Yellowstone National Park on Monday. Wildlife officials suspected a nearby moose carcass the grizzly was defending may have been the cause of the attack, officials said.
The bear, reported to be an older-age male, was shot and killed on Friday after it charged at a group of game wardens, bear specialists and Forest Service personnel, who went to revisit the site on Frida, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) said in a statement.
Charles “Carl” Mock, 40, was attacked while fishing alone in a forested area along the Madison River several miles north of Yellowstone. Mock suffered significant scalp and facial wounds. He managed to call 911 after the attack and was found after searchers looked for him for about 50 minutes. He was transported by toboggan and snowmobile to an ambulance before being taken to a hospital in the city of Idaho Falls, where he later died from his injuries, according to CBS News.
Mock, who lived in the park gateway community of West Yellowstone, was a guide at Backcountry Adventure, which provides snowmobile rentals and tours in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas of national forest, according to the company's Facebook page.
The sheriff’s office said that Mock used bear spray when he was attacked that was found on his clothes, but officials were unable to determine to what extent he was able to use it against the bear.
"He was the only one who was there and we were never able to talk to him," Morgan Jacobsen, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson said.
Officials said they are confident the bear that was killed is the one that attacked Mock.
Scott Riley, a friend of Mock's, described him as "an extremely experienced" guide who knew the risks of living and working in proximity to grizzly bears. His friend told CBS News that he had been fishing in the same area all week without incident.
Riley said his friend had "sight like an eagle and hearing like and owl" and was "the best guide around and a great guy."
On Saturday, the family is having a Celebration of Life for Carl at 11 p.m., according to his GoFundMe page. As of today, the fundraiser has surpassed its $30,000 goal.
Yellowstone is home to both grizzly bears and black bears. In 2019, the bear population was estimated at 728 bears. The bears have gradually expanded their occupied habitat by more than 50%. There were 40 known or probable grizzly bear mortalities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 2018 including 22 inside and 18 outside of the Demographic Monitoring Area. There was one known grizzly bear death inside the park: a subadult male grizzly bear was killed by an adult male .No people were injured by grizzly bears in 2019, according to the National Park Service (NPS).
