Hunter charged by grizzly bear in North Idaho

BOUNDARY COUNTY (The Spokesman Review) — A hunter in North Idaho was charged by a grizzly bear near the Canadian border on Wednesday.

The hunter, who wasn’t injured, fired four shots in self-defense, according to a Facebook post from the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office.

Neither the bear nor any blood were immediately found. The post said it’s unclear if the bear was hit by any of the rounds, but that there’s “a high likelihood” that an injured grizzly is in the area.

The hunter was on state land along State Highway 1 near Porthill, a border crossing town north of Bonners Ferry.

North Idaho is part of what bear managers consider the Selkirk Recovery Zone. It’s one of six areas where federal officials have worked to recover the bears, which have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1975.

The most recent minimum count estimated there were at least 57 grizzlies in the U.S. portion of the Selkirks, which includes parts of Northeast Washington.

In May, a black bear hunter mistakenly shot a grizzly bear north of Priest Lake in neighboring Bonner County.

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