Officials with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced they located and killed a black bear that attacked a three-year-old girl in a campground near Red Lodge on Sunday. The young girl was asleep inside her family’s tent when she was attacked, according to a Facebook post from the agency. Officials have not released any information about the girl’s condition other than the fact that she was transported to a hospital in Billings after the attack.
The incident occurred around 9:45 p.m. at Perry’s RV Park and Campground, which is located on Rock Creek just a few miles south of Red Lodge. The private campground was evacuated by Monday morning, when MFWP officials arrived to try and capture the black bear. They successfully trapped and killed a bear by 8:25 p.m. that same day that they believe was the same bear involved in the attack.
“Our wildlife staff and enforcement are continuing to trap [there] until Tuesday afternoon just to ensure there’s not another bear in the area that could have been involved with this,” MFWP spokesperson Chrissy Webb tells Outdoor Life.
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Webb couldn’t speak to whether the agency will perform DNA testing on the bear to ensure it was the animal involved in the incident. But she says “we’re feeling really confident at this point that we have already captured and euthanized the bear involved in the attack.”
It’s unknown when the private campground will be allowed to reopen. The staff at Perry’s could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Further details behind the bear attack are slim, but Webb says that “unsecured attractants” played a role in the mauling. Officials explain in a press release that they found garbage, a cooler, and human food inside the tent.
“We don’t have any details yet on this specific bear,” she explains, “but it does sound like there were some attractants in the area that might have lured the bear into this site.”
Anthony Cerra, a man who claims to be the victim’s grandfather, confirmed this in a Facebook comment on MFWP’s post. Cerra wrote that they “should have had stuff put up for sure!” He said three more of his grandchildren were sleeping in the same tent when the attack occurred.
MFWP emphasizes being “bear aware” when camping or recreating in bear country, especially at established campgrounds where large concentrations of people can attract opportunistic bears. In its guide to camping in bear country, MFWP points out that most conflicts between humans and black bears at campsites involve food-conditioned bears.
“A food-laden campsite can be a bear’s death sentence,” MFWP says. “After trying scare tactics and multiple relocations, FWP wardens and biologists have to kill 10 to 12 bears each year when the animals, attracted by food, repeatedly raid campsites and put human safety at risk.”