This is horrible news.
I’ve been at Soda Butte a few times and the place always left me feeling a bit spooked.
According to early reports, this happened at around 4 a.m., which seems to be a very bad time to encounter a bear.
You can see a very detailed page of Soda Butte Campground here:
UPDATE:
The Billings Gazette seems to have the most info on this story and their proximity to Cooke City is good. You can follow the story at their link:
I feel horrible for the guy who was camped by himself at the edge of the campground. I guess because I see a lot of myself in that situation. It can happen to anyone.
Although bears are not “evil” as some would have you believe, they are dangerous and not cute and cuddly.
My heart goes out to the man’s family. They even used his tent fly as part of the culvert trap.
Who knows what the morning light will reveal.
Update # 2:
They have captured a grizzly mother and two cubs. A third cub is on the perimeter and will likely be trapped soon. In all honesty I hope this isn’t the bear. It would be sad to see this mother grizzly killed, and her three cubs also killed or sent to a zoo.
Those in charge are waiting for a DNA test to confirm, and the results should be back today.
Something always felt “off” to me about this campground. It’s very scenic, but it also seems to be in a wildlife corridor between the Absaroka Range and the Beartooth Range.
Update # 3:
The mother grizzly has been killed after DNA tests revealed her to be the attacker. The cubs will either be brought to a zoo or killed.
Very sad story all around.
Sometimes, when I have camped in remote areas, I wished that I had something more than my grizzly spray. I’ve had a few encounters with bear and one can never predict a grizz. It’s a good thing, that that most times, potentially dangerous predators want nothing to do with us humans. I wonder if any of you all have had any unpredictable encounters you might like to share?