Fatal grizzly bear attack in Ovando

OVANDO – On the morning of July 6, the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Wildlife Human Attack Response Team responded to a fatal bear attack in Ovando.

The incident happened early Tuesday morning.

FWP biologists, conflict specialists and game wardens are on the scene and searching for the bear.

A video camera from a local business caught footage of a grizzly bear Monday night, and a bear also got into a chicken coop.  

Grizzly bears are common in the Blackfoot Valley where Ovando is located.

More details on the incident will be released as they are available.

UPDATE 7/7/21:

FWP keeps traps in Ovando area, more details released

OVANDO – After two days of searching by helicopter and on the ground, the grizzly bear that killed a woman Tuesday morning has not been found. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear specialists and wardens are continuing to monitor culvert traps set in the area.

The search even included the use of infrared technology from Two Bear Air Rescue out of Kalispell, but efforts to find the bear are now focusing on traps near Ovando.

Details surrounding the circumstances of the attack indicate the bear entered town Monday morning and came to an area near the post office at about 3 a.m., where the victim was sleeping in a tent. Another couple in her party were sleeping in a tent nearby.

The bear initially woke the campers but then ran away. The three campers removed food from their tents, secured it, and went back to bed.

The bear was captured by a video camera at a business less than a block away at about 3:15 a.m.

At about 3:30 a.m. the two people in the tent adjacent to the victim were awakened by sounds of the attack. They exited the tent and sprayed the bear with bear spray. It has not been seen since.

The bear pulled the victim from the tent during the fatal attack.

At some point during the night the bear also got into a chicken coop in town, killing and eating several chickens.

While the initial search for the bear was unsuccessful, FWP wardens and bear specialists will continue to monitor the area closely.

“At this point, our best chance for catching this bear will be culvert traps set in the area near the chicken coop where the bear killed and ate several chickens,” said Randy Arnold, FWP regional supervisor in Missoula.

FWP bear experts believe the bear was an approximately 400-pound male, judging by behavior and footprints. DNA from the bear was collected at the scene of the attack and will be analyzed. Should a bear be caught in a trap, DNA can quickly be compared to the DNA already collected to determine if it is the same animal.

Anyone who spots a grizzly bear near Ovando should call the FWP Missoula office at 542-5500.

7/9/21 Officials kill grizzly bear near Ovando

OVANDO – Wildlife officials shot and killed a grizzly bear early Friday morning less than two miles from Ovando, where a woman was killed in a grizzly bear attack early Tuesday morning.

The bear was killed at the scene of a second chicken coop raid that was very similar in nature to the one that happened in Ovando the night of the fatal attack.

Given the proximity to Tuesday’s attack, the evidence found at the scenes and the fact another chicken coop was raided, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials believe this is the same bear but confirming DNA analysis will take a few days.

The second chicken coop raid occurred Wednesday night, about 48 hours after the attack in Ovando. FWP specialists set a trap at the second coop on Thursday and USDA Wildlife Services specialists were monitoring the trap Thursday night when the bear approached and was shot. Wildlife Services specialists were assisting at the request of FWP officials, anticipating the bear would return to the coop. They used night vision technology to aid in shooting the bear.

DNA samples from the bear will be compared to samples taken from the scene of the fatal attack Tuesday to determine if this was the same bear. In the meantime, FWP staff will remain vigilant and keep at least one trap set near the first chicken coop on the outskirts of Ovando.

If people see a bear in the area of Ovando, please call FWP at 542-5500.

8/4/21 Update: Wildlife officials, Blackfoot community work together on fatal bear attack details and next steps

OVANDO – Wildlife officials and the local Blackfoot Valley community are working together to wrap up details of the July 6 fatal grizzly bear attack of a camper in Ovando.

Soon the information will be sent on to the Board of Review, a group of wildlife staff from federal and state agencies assembled to look at the details of all human-bear attacks and record them in a final report. The board will release its final report, containing all details of this Ovando case sometime later this year.

On July 14, DNA results confirmed that the bear killed by wildlife officials was the same bear that fatally attacked Leah Davis Lokan in her tent in the early morning hours of July 6. DNA samples from the bear, saliva samples at the scene of the attack and samples from two chicken coops in the area that the bear raided all matched up.

The tragic event brought community members and wildlife officials together to respond, collect information and discuss next steps.