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Thursday, July 29, 2010

A Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks employee patrols the area where a man was killed by a bear in the Soda Butte campground early Wednesday. Officials set five culvert traps in the campground, in anticipation of the animal's return.

One person was killed and two injured when at least one bear rampaged through a campground near Yellowstone National Park early Wednesday morning.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials are investigating the attacks, believed to have occurred about 2 a.m., at Soda Butte Campground in the Gallatin National Forest which left one man dead, a woman suffering severe lacerations from bites on her arms, and another man bitten on his calf. The identities and ages of the victims have not been released.

Officials are still trying to sort out how many bears were involved, and what may have caused the attack.

"The campsites are being combed for evidence," said Fish, Wildlife & Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim. "We’re not certain if it was one bear or more than one, and we haven’t determined if it was a grizzly or black bear. We’ve extracted DNA samples from evidence found on site. This will help us identify the bear or bears involved, once captured.”

"This is not typical bear behavior. It’s odd. It’s not normal," Aasheim continued.

Tents were ripped or damaged during the attacks, yet no food was found in any of the victims' tents. "Everyone appeared to have followed all food storage regulations," Aasheim said. Many campgrounds in bear country, including Soda Butte, have "bear boxes," metal storage containers for food storage away from tents.

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