Grizzly bear in fatal Montana attack was guarding food cache

By AMY BETH HANSON
Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A grizzly bear that fatally mauled a Montana man near Yellowstone National Park this spring was likely defending a moose carcass. Investigators theorized the bear may have continued to aggressively guard the cache, including by charging at rescuers and investigators, because of a recent fight with another grizzly bear. Carl Mock of West Yellowstone was attacked by the bear on April 15 and died two days later at an Idaho hospital. The bear was shot and killed after it charged a team of wildlife investigators who returned to the scene the day after the mauling. The report says a study of the bear’s gastrointestinal contents discovered tissue from another grizzly bear.