WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. A Montana guide in Montana has died after being killed by a large grizzly bear that apparently defended a nearby elk carcass just outside Yellowstone National Park, officials said Monday.
Charles “Carl” Mock, 40, who lived in the park gate community of West Yellowstone, died Saturday, two days after being attacked while fishing alone in a wooded area along the Madison River, a few miles north. of West Yellowstone, Sheriff of Gallatin County. spokeswoman Christine Koosman said.
The male bear, which weighed at least 420 pounds, was later shot dead when he charged the game workers investigating the attack.
Morgan Jacobsen, spokeswoman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, found the beautiful carcass about 50 feet from the scene of the attack.
Mock, who suffered serious scalp and facial injuries, managed to call 911 after the attack and was found after searchers searched for him for about 50 minutes.
He was transported to an ambulance by the sheriff’s office with the toboggan and snowmobile before being taken to a hospital in the city of Idaho Falls, where he died.
Mock was a guide at Backcountry Adventure, which offers snowmobile rentals and tours in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding parts of the national forest, according to the company’s Facebook page.
A fundraising website set up on Mock’s behalf after the deception said he is passionate about the outdoors and a beloved guide for Yellowstone visitors.
Spot when attacked had bear spray – a Mace-like deterrent that had to protect against attacks. Remains of perch spray were found on Mock’s clothes, but officials could not determine to what extent he could use it against the bear.
“He was the only one there and we could never talk to him,” Jacobsen said.
The grizzly was killed Friday after he charged a group of seven game wardens and other staff as they approached the scene of the attack. Several people shot at the animal and it was about 20 meters from the group dead, Jacobsen said.
Officials said they were confident the bear killed was the one that attacked Mock.
The Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has more than 700 bears. Lethal attacks on humans are relatively rare, but have increased in recent decades as the grizzly population has grown and more people have moved to rural areas near bear habitat. Since 2010, grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have killed eight people, including Mock. Three died inside the park.
The most recent death was in 2018, when a hunting guide and his client were attacked in Wyoming and the guide died.
Grizzlies have been federally protected since 1975 as an endangered species outside Alaska after being extensively exterminated by hunters and hunters early in the last century.
Hunting greyhounds are not allowed. But lawmakers from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are trying to force wildlife officials to lift protection so the bears can be hunted.
Mock’s friend Scott Riley said he is a “very experienced” guide who knows the risks involved in living and working near grizzly bears.
Mock, who was unmarried and originally from Pocatello, Idaho, fished in the same area all week without incident, Riley said. His friend said he spent enough time outdoors with Mock, who also kayaked, hunted and rode on his motorcycle, and they saw many bears but never had any problems.
“He was the best guide,” Riley said. “He saw sight like an eagle and heard like an owl … Carl was a wonderful guy.”