Glacier, Yellowstone National Parks each confirm bear attacks during first week of May

The ripple effect of this winter’s low snow totals, record March temperatures, and early melting across the American west will be immense. We are already seeing some of the earliest dates of overall melt-off in parts of the southern Rockies, with snow water equivalent levels west of the Continental Divide some of their lowest at this point in recorded history.

Eventually, that will mean severe drought conditions worsen, and the proclivity for fires to pop up (barring an intervention from well-timed monsoons) could come to define climate in 2026.

The early season impacts, though, have been most pronounced in the way of encounters with emerging wildlife – particularly bears who are out of hibernation, hungry from a winter of fasting, and in more open terrain than during typical slow snow-melt seasons. Twice already, that has come with dire circumstances in prominent National Parks out west.

33 year old Anthony Pollio from Fort Lauderdale, Florida was reported missing on Monday, May 4th with his last known destination the Mt. Brown Fire Lookout in the heart of Glacier National Park. His vehicle was found at nearby Lake McDonald, and despite the relatively straightforward 3.4 mile hike up to the lookout above 7,400 feet, he was still not found as of the morning of Wednesday, May 6th. That changed that afternoon, however, as reamins were found with the scene showing consistencies with that of a bear encounter, and it was later confirmed as Pollio on the morning of May 9th.

A wide swath of National Park land and trails due east of Lake McDonald were subsequently closed until further notice as rangers investigate the nature of the bear encounter.

Just one day after Pollio was reported missing in Glacier National Park, two hikers were found seriously injured on the Mystic Falls Trail just outside of Old Faithful in the heart of Yellowstone National Park by a fellow hiker who came upon them. It was almost immediately confirmed as a bear attack – perhaps even featuring multiple bears of varying ages – and rangers in the park closed west of the Yellowstone River from as far north as Sentinel Creek and as far southwest as the Little Firehole River.

The National Park Service later revealed that the two attacked hikers – brothers aged 28 and 15 – were likely attacked by a sow grizzly in the presence of her cubs. Thats a frightening situation to encounter at any point of the year, but it’s especially dangerous right after they emerge hungry from hibernation and are in search of much needed food. Sows become particularly aggressive around their cubs since older, hungry grizzlies have been known to resort to attacking vulnerable cubs in their search for food after months spent hibernating.

It remains to be revealed just how prepared at least two of these three victims were in their respective attacks, or how much preventative measure had been taken to avoid contact with bears on their hikes. We do not know if food or other scented items were carried in the Yellowstone incident, or whether any of that duo was carrying bear spray or other deterrents before the attacks. However, based on interviews with Pollio’s father and brother in the wake of his attack, it does appear he was carrying bear spray when he was attacked.