The Northern Rockies offer some of the most amazing terrain in the lower 48 states, but it can also be full of dangers. In a horrifying story out of Montana, a mountain biker was mauled and killed by a grizzly bear while riding with a friend just south of Glacier National Park.
Brad Treat, 38, was remembered by his hometown friends as a champion athlete and a remarkable sportsman. After Treat finished first at a cross country race, he turned around and congratulated the other racers, a tradition that still exists in Missoula today, his track coach told the Flathead Beacon
The friend who escaped unharmed told authorities they had surprised a grizzly bear during their ride near Halfmoon Lake in the Flathead National Forest, and while he was able to get away, the bear knocked Brad off his bike and attacked him, according to the Associated Press.
When crews returned to the scene they found him dead, but not the bear. Crews were still searching for the bear into Thursday.
Along with being a great athlete, Treat was also remembered for his work as a law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service. His death marks the seventh fatal grizzly attack in the Northern Rockies since 2010, according to the Washington Post.
Photo credit: Public Domain Photos
Bears in Action
-
King of the mountain
-
Here fishey, fishey
-
Get outta here!!!
-
Hum Diddy Um Diddy Umpt
-
Who's that?
-
Hey, break it up you two!
-
I hate fishing in the rain.
-
Is my hair straight?
-
Play fighting? How cute.
-
I thought I smelled a salmon.
-
Hey don't look at me right now.
-
Yes!! Got one!
-
Fuzzy in tall grass.
-
Now this is gonna happen.
-
Where's the ice?
-
Don't mess with me.
-
Man, am I tired
-
Come give me a hug, I'm crazy
-
Damn, not this again
-
Paintballs are no match
-
I will climb anything for an egg
-
Ah, how cute
-
Now, which way to the campground
-
Nothing to see here
-
Yea, I'm not the cutest
-
What's that?
-
Black bear in field
-
Grizzly in Glacier
-
Grizzlies in Alaska
-
A stallion of a bear
-
Big male grizzly
-
Hey big guy
