72-year-old American defends himself and kills grizzly bear that attacked him

A 72-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, demonstrated remarkable courage and resourcefulness when he found himself in a life-threatening situation while picking blueberries in Montana. Officials with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks reported that the man was alone on a national forest land when an adult female grizzly bear suddenly attacked him last Thursday. In a harrowing struggle for survival, the man was able to defend himself by firing a handgun and eventually managed to overpower and kill the bear. The incident left him with serious injuries that required urgent evacuation to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

Dillon Tabish, a spokesman for the agency, said the bear was probably a mother trying to protect her cubs. Since then, wildlife officials have been combing the area looking for orphaned cubs. The thinking behind their fate favors leaving them in the wild once they have reached an appropriate age to survive.