A surprise attack by a grizzly bear leads to the closure of a mountain in Grand Teton National Park

Moose, Wyoming. — A grizzly bear attacked and seriously injured a man in Grand Teton National Park in western Wyoming, prompting the closure of a mountain there Monday.

The grizzly was one of two that surprised the 35-year-old Massachusetts man at Signal Mountain on Sunday afternoon. Rescue workers flew the injured man in a helicopter to an ambulance, which took him to a nearby hospital.

He is expected to recover, park officials said in a statement, declining to identify him.

The statement did not provide details about the man’s injuries or how he encountered the bear. Park officials closed a trail and the road to an overlook on the 7,700-foot mountain.

The attack occurred at the start of the busy summer tourist season in Grand Teton and nearby Yellowstone National Park.

As the grizzly population in the region increases, several such attacks occur each year. Park officials urge people to give bears plenty of space, carry bear spray and not leave food lying around that could attract bears.

The attack comes just days after a man died in Canada suffered “significant injuries” after being attacked by a grizzly bear while hunting with his father.

Last fall a Canadian The couple and their dog were killed of a grizzly bear while backpacking in Banff National Park. Just a few weeks earlier, a hunter in Montana seriously injured from a grizzly bear.

Last July a grizzly bear fatally assaulted a woman on a forest trail west of Yellowstone National ParkThe bear was later euthanized after breaking into a home near West Yellowstone in August.

Also in the same month, a 21-year-old woman who was planting trees was seriously injured by a bear in British Columbia. Canadian officials were unable to find the animal but believe it was a grizzly bear that attacked the woman.

In October 2022, a grizzly bear attacked and injured two college wrestlers in the Shoshone National Forest in northwestern Wyoming.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, grizzly bears are protected as an endangered species in the 48 contiguous states.

Last month, the US National Park Service announced it would launch a campaign to capture grizzly bears in Yellowstone Park for research purposes. The agency urged the public to avoid areas with traps as they were clearly marked