Hiker killed by bear in ‘surprise encounter’ at Glacier National Park in US, say officials

MONTANA – A man hiking at Glacier National Park in Montana this week was killed by a bear in the first such fatality in the wilderness area in more than 25 years, the authorities said.

The hiker, Mr Anthony Pollio, 33, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was last heard from on the evening of May 3. His disappearance was reported on May 4, the National Park Service said.

He had planned to hike to the Mount Brown Fire Lookout, a steep trail near Lake McDonald.

Rangers searched for Mr Pollio with help from a local search-and-rescue team and aerial resources, the park service said.

On May 6, his remains were found about 15m off the Mount Brown Trail, the park service said.

Mr Pollio’s personal belongings were found 4km from the trailhead.

“His injuries are consistent with those sustained by a bear encounter,” the park service said on May 9. Evidence suggests it “was a surprise encounter”, the service added.

Glacier National Park did not return a request for comment by the afternoon of May 9.

Multiple trails, including the Mount Brown trail, remained closed while park rangers inspected the area for bear activity, the service said.

Fatal bear encounters in the park are uncommon.

Excluding this week’s fatality, 10 people have died in bear attacks since the park was established in 1910. The last person killed by a bear was Mr Craig Dahl on May 17, 1998, according to the park service.

In August 2025, a 34-year-old woman hiking near Lake Janet was injured by a “brown-coloured bear”, the park service said. In that encounter, the bear swiped at the woman, injuring her shoulder and arm.

Another person who was hiking with the woman sprayed bear spray, and the bear ran away. The woman who was attacked was hospitalised in stable condition, the authorities said at the time.

Glacier National Park, which is south of the Canadian border in north-western Montana, has a higher density of grizzly bears than any other park in the continental US, according to Pursuit, a wilderness tour operator.

The park is home to nearly 1,000 bears, including black and grizzly populations, according to its website.

Mr Pollio’s fatal bear encounter at Glacier National Park happened in the same week that two hikers were injured in a bear attack at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, according to the park service.

On May 4, a 15-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man were hiking the Mystic Falls trail near the Old Faithful geyser when they were injured, the park service said.

Park staff believe that a female grizzly bear and two or three cubs were involved.

The hikers were airlifted to a hospital, where one was in critical condition and the other in serious condition, reported the Jackson Hole News and Guide, a newspaper in Jackson, Wyoming.

Multiple areas of Yellowstone remained closed as at May 9 because of the bear encounter, the park service said.

The last bear-related injuries reported in Yellowstone were in September, when a man received “significant but non-life-threatening” injuries to his chest and left arm, the park service said at the time. NYTIMES