The Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes of Montana won't shoot a grizzly bear that attacked a man last week.

The bear attacked a student from Salish Kootenai College on Friday morning. The man was bitten three times and was treated at local hospitals, The Kalispel Daily Inter Lake reported.

“It appears that it was a surprise encounter and the bear was defending her cubs,” Germaine White, an information and education specialist for the tribe, told the paper. “No lethal control is planned at this point.”

The last known bear attack on the Flathead Reservation was in the 1990s, The Missoulian reported.

Get the Story:
Pablo bear won’t be harmed (The Kalispel Daily Inter Lake 4/23)
SKC student recovering; grizzly sow that attacked not seen since (The Missoulian 4/23)
Salish Kootenai College student mauled by grizzly bear (The Missoulian 4/21)