Night of the Grizzlies

It was July 1967. Steve Ashlock and John Cook were enjoying a fishing trip. They were in Montana’s Glacier National Park. The 14-year-old boys hiked up to Trout Lake. It’s one of the glittering lakes set among Glacier’s forests and mountains.

There, the boys spotted a group of bears. At least two were grizzlies. What luck! They are among North America’s biggest and most powerful animals.

Steve and John understood that grizzlies could be dangerous. So the boys kept their distance. But they weren’t scared. Grizzlies usually stayed away from humans. There had never been a deadly grizzly bear attack in Glacier’s 57-year history.

That was about to change. And ideas about grizzlies—and how humans treat them—would never be the same. 

It was July 1967. Steve Ashlock and John Cook were on a fishing trip in Glacier National Park. The boys saw a group of bears. At least two of the bears were grizzly bears. Grizzlies are some of the most powerful animals in North America.

Steve and John kept far away from the bears. They knew that grizzlies could be unsafe. But a grizzly bear had never killed anyone in Glacier. So they weren’t scared.They felt lucky to see the bears.

But that was all about to change. Ideas about grizzlies would change too. The way humans treated grizzly bears would never be the same.

It was July 1967. Steve Ashlock and John Cook were on a fishing trip. They were in Montana’s Glacier National Park. The 14-year-old boys hiked up to Trout Lake. It’s one of the lakes next to Glacier’s forests and mountains.

The boys saw a group of bears there. At least two were grizzly bears. What luck! Grizzlies are some of North America’s biggest and strongest animals.

Steve and John knew that grizzlies could be dangerous. So the boys kept far away from the bears. But they weren’t scared. Grizzlies usually stayed away from people. There had never been a deadly grizzly bear attack in Glacier National Park.

That was about to change. And ideas about grizzlies, and how humans should treat them, would never be the same.

It was July 1967. Two 14-year-old boys, Steve Ashlock and John Cook, were enjoying a fishing trip in Montana’s Glacier National Park. They’d arrived the day before, excited for three days of cooking over a campfire and sleeping under the stars.

Glacier had been packed with visitors all summer. But Steve and John quickly escaped the honking cars, crowds of hikers, and trash-covered trails. They hiked several miles up to Trout Lake, one of the glittering lakes set among Glacier’s thick forests and rugged mountains.

The boys’ first day was perfect. They set up their campsite and feasted on the trout they caught in the lake. Best of all: They spotted a group of bears that came to the lake for a drink. Some were the smaller and more common black bears. But at least two were grizzlies. The boys recognized their lighter-colored fur and the hump between their shoulders.

What luck!

Glacier was filled with marvelous creatures. Hawks peered down from trees. Bighorn sheep perched on rocky cliffs. Mountain lions snuck through the trees. But few creatures inspired awe like the grizzly, North America’s biggest and most powerful animal.

Steve and John understood that grizzlies could be dangerous, and the boys kept their distance. But they weren’t frightened. They knew that grizzlies usually stayed away from humans. In Glacier’s 57-year history, there had never been a single deadly grizzly bear attack.

That was about to change.

Terror was just ahead. Two horrific grizzly attacks would soon shatter the peaceful beauty of Glacier National Park. And ideas about grizzlies—and humans—would never be the same.

One month later, on August 13, there was shocking news from Glacier. Two 19-year-old women had been killed by two different grizzly bears. The bears had attacked the women as they slept in their tents. Nothing had frightened or surprised the bears into attacking.

There had never been a deadly grizzly attack in Glacier before. How was it possible that in a single night, two grizzlies had become killers?

Glacier’s leaders finally had to face the truth. Garbage had caused the grizzlies to turn violent.

For years, rangers and park leaders had known trash was a problem. All summer they had been getting complaints about grizzlies spotted near campgrounds, threatening humans. But no action was taken. 

Glacier had a grizzly problem. The bears had lost their fear of humans. People had caused this problem. People had been leaving garbage all over the park. Some people even used garbage to lure grizzlies close to humans. This changed how the bears acted. Some bears now depended on garbage for their food.

On August 13, there was shocking news. Two women had been killed by grizzly bears. Nothing had scared the bears into attacking. People finally accepted the truth. Garbage had turned the grizzlies violent.

That night became known as “the night of the grizzlies.” The night led to big changes in America’s national parks. Rangers cleaned up trails and campgrounds. They also added special bear-proof trash cans. Now grizzly bears couldn’t eat the garbage.

All these changes made the parks better. Glacier is a cleaner and safer place for its 300 grizzlies. And for humans.

It was August 13, about one month after Steve and John’s grizzly scare. There was shocking news from Glacier. Two 19-year-old women had been killed. They had been killed by two different grizzly bears. The bears had attacked the women as they slept in their tents. Nothing had frightened or surprised the bears into attacking.

Grizzly bears had never killed a human in Glacier before. How was it possible that two grizzlies had become killers in the same night?

Glacier’s leaders finally had to accept the truth. Garbage had made the grizzlies turn violent.

For years, rangers and park leaders had known about the trash problem. They had been getting complaints all summer: Grizzlies had been near campgrounds. The bears had threatened people. But no one had done anything to solve the problem.

A Terrifying Hike

John and Steve made it out of the wilderness that night. After a terrifying 4-mile hike through the darkness, they arrived at a ranger station. They told their story to the ranger on duty.

The man was not surprised. He and other rangers had been hearing about that strange grizzly all summer. But the rangers had bigger problems to deal with, like the wildfires that were burning in some areas of the park.

The boys spent the night in a cabin. When they returned to their campsite the next morning, the grizzly was gone. But before it left, it had ripped apart their tent, smashed their lantern, and eaten all their food. Cans of spaghetti and chili were torn apart.

The boys left Glacier with what little camping gear they could save. Two weeks later, they’d realize that they had been lucky to escape with their lives.

That night became known as “the night of the grizzlies.” The events that night brought about a transformation in Glacier and the rest of America’s national parks.

Rangers cleaned up the trails and campgrounds. They also installed bear- proof trash cans so that grizzlies could not eat garbage. Aggressive bears were moved to distant parts of the park.

Today, picnic areas are set up far away from where people sleep. If a grizzly is seen near a trail, the trail is closed.

The new rules led to lasting change. Glacier is a cleaner and healthier place for its 300 grizzlies—and for humans. 

That night became known as “the night of the grizzlies.” The events brought about a transformation in Glacier and the rest of America’s national parks.

Rangers cleaned up the trails and campgrounds. They also put in bear-proof trash cans. This way the grizzlies could not eat garbage. Aggressive bears were moved far away to other parts of the park.

Today, picnic areas are set up away from where people sleep. If a grizzly is seen near a trail, the trail is closed.

The new rules led to changes that can still be seen today. Glacier is a cleaner and healthier place for its 300 grizzlies. And for humans.  

Shocking News

On August 13, the world woke up to shocking news from Glacier. During the night, two 19-year-old women had been killed by two different grizzly bears. The attacks were not related; they happened 7 miles apart. Neither grizzly had been surprised or threatened by people. The bears attacked the women as they slept in their tents.

How could this have happened?

In the days that followed, this was the question that echoed across Glacier’s forests and lakes. Never before had there been a deadly grizzly attack in Glacier. How was it possible that in a single night, two grizzlies had become killers?

Glacier’s leaders scrambled to give an answer. It was the heat, they said. Or the wildfires. Or maybe lightning had spooked the bears.

Rangers were ordered to track down the two grizzlies and euthanize them—kill them painlessly. One was a mother bear that had been seen with her two cubs at the Granite Park garbage pit. Her front paw was badly torn, likely from broken glass. The other bear was in even worse shape. It was starving and had broken glass in its teeth.

This was the skinny bear that John and Steve had seen at Trout Lake.

Finally, Glacier’s leaders were forced to face the truth: It was not heat or fires or lightning that had caused the grizzlies to turn violent. It was garbage.

For years, rangers and park leaders had known trash was a problem. All summer they had been getting complaints about grizzlies lurking near campgrounds and threatening humans.

Yet no action was taken. As a result, two women had died. Four grizzlies were also dead; the mother grizzly’s two cubs were also euthanized.

A Transformation

Nothing could change the tragic events of “the night of the grizzlies,” as that night in August became known. But those events brought about a transformation of Glacier and the rest of America’s national parks.

Rangers cleaned up the trails and campgrounds. They also installed bear-proof trash cans so that grizzlies could not eat garbage. Garbage pits like those at Granite Park were closed. At campgrounds, picnic areas were set up far away from where people slept. If a grizzly was seen near a trail, the trail would be closed. Aggressive bears would be moved to remote parts of the park.

Those new rules led to lasting change. Today, Glacier is a cleaner and healthier place for its 300 grizzlies—and for humans.

This past year, more than 3 million people visited Glacier. Like John and Steve, they walked the winding trails and looked out across the jewel-like lakes. A few even spotted grizzly bears.

And hopefully, they felt lucky.