BILLINGS, Montana – Yellowstone National Park rangers are trying to capture a grizzly they say killed a hiker from Michigan last week, the second fatal bear attack this summer at the famed park, authorities said Monday.
The body of John Wallace, 59, was discovered Friday along a trail near an area of the park known for its high population of bears. An autopsy concluded he died from injuries in a bear attack.
"We know of no witnesses" to the attack, park superintendent Dan Wenk said. "We think we provide visitors with pretty good knowledge and techniques to keep them safe in the backcountry. Unfortunately, in this case it didn't happen that way."
Rangers set traps and plan to kill the animal if they can establish through DNA analysis that it was the one that attacked Wallace, Wenk said.
Wenk said park officials do not believe the bear was involved in the other mauling this summer several miles (kilomters) away from where Wallace's body was discovered.
In July, a female bear with cubs killed a hiker from California. Officials did not kill the sow grizzly because they concluded it was defending its cubs.
In the latest case, there were no sign of cubs in the area where Wallace was killed.
Wallace, of Chassell, Michigan, was apparently traveling alone and had pitched a tent in a developed campground sometime Wednesday, park officials said.
Authorities said Wallace likely was killed Wednesday or Thursday during a hike along the Mary Mountain Trail.
Rangers also found grizzly tracks and scat, or bear droppings, near Wallace's body. The body was discovered in an area of the park that rangers close from March to June because it is considered "high-density" grizzly country.
In the case of Wallace's death, Wenk said there was too little information to know if it was a defensive attack or not. As a result he said the bear would be killed if it can be positively identified as the culprit.
Despite the killings, Wenk said dangerous encounters remain rare between grizzlies and the more than 3 million people who visit the park each year. The July killing was the first inside the park first since 1986.
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