Bear injures hiker on Turbid Lake Trail in Yellowstone, likely grizzly

A 29-year-old man was seriously but not life-threateningly injured Tuesday afternoon after a bear attacked him on the Turbid Lake Trail in Yellowstone National Park, park officials said. The encounter occurred about 2.5 miles from the Pelican Valley Trailhead in the Pelican Valley Bear Management Area, northeast of Mary Bay on Yellowstone Lake, the National Park Service said.

According to the agency, the hiker was alone when he surprised the animal about 4 kilometers into the backcountry and began to deploy bear spray as the bear made contact. He sustained significant injuries to his chest and left arm. National Park Service medics walked out with the man, who was taken by park ambulance to the Lake Clinic and then flown to a nearby hospital for further treatment. Park officials said they had no additional information Wednesday about his name, hometown or updated condition.

The hiker reported that the animal appeared to be a black bear, but park staff said the location, size and behavior described make a grizzly bear more likely. Bear management personnel will attempt to confirm the species through DNA analysis if possible, the agency said. Because the NPS has characterized the...