Grizzly bear who killed Grand Rapids man euthanized, will be study for ailments

The 300-pound female grizzly bear that fatally mauled a Grand Rapids man this week and bit two other campers at Soda Butte Campground was euthanized Friday after DNA tests showed the sow was responsible for the attacks, said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks spokesman Andrea Jones. Jones said tests on bear hair, saliva and tissue samples linked the bear to the fatal attack on Kevin Kammer, 48, of the Northeast Side, and two other people Wednesday in the Gallatin National Forest, near Yellowstone National Park. Kammer, a father of four, was on a fly-fishing vacation when he was killed. Authorities say the bear dragged him 25 feet from his tent in the nighttime attack. Officials will perform an autopsy on the mother bear to determine if any physical ailments or conditions caused her to attack the campers, Servheen said. Grizzly bears that display unprovoked aggressive behavior toward humans, or cause death or substantial human injury, should be removed from the population under an agreement among eight state and federal agencies, state wildlife officials said...more