HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The Latest on a grizzly bear attack (all times local):
3:35 p.m.
A grizzly bear researcher who was attacked by a grizzly bear last month says the encounter has done nothing to change her mind about her career path.
Amber Kornak said Thursday that she is slowly recovering from the May 17 attack by a male grizzly in northwestern Montana’s Cabinet Mountains.
She was conducting research for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when she surprised the bear. It bit her skull and clawed her arm and back before she deployed her bear spray and it ran away.
The 28-year-old Kornak says she still to be a bear manager. She says if anything, the accident just helped her career.
State wildlife officials concluded the bear acted defensively, and Kornak agreed. She says she wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.
___
1:05 p.m.
Montana wildlife officials are releasing new details about last month’s bear attack against a government researcher.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said Amber Kornak surprised a grizzly after walking within 12 feet (4 meters) of the bear in the Cabinet Mountains on May 17.
The FWP statement says neither likely saw or heard the other prior to the encounter. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seasonal field assistant received serious injuries before she could deploy her bear spray and force the grizzly to flee.
Kornak, who was alone, walked 2 miles (3 kilometers) to her car and drove another 3 miles (5 kilometers) before coming across another vehicle.
DNA tests show the bear is a 24-year-old male that was previously captured in 2005 as part of a research project.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.