{"id":355001,"date":"2026-07-28T15:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/355001\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T15:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:48:09","slug":"florida-man-fell-100-feet-while-being-mauled-to-death-by-surprised-grizzly-bear-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/355001\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida man fell 100 feet while being mauled to death by ‘surprised’ grizzly bear"},"content":{"rendered":"

***WARNING: The following article contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.*** <\/p>\n

WEST GLACIER, Mont. (TNND) \u2014 A hiker mauled to death by a grizzly bear in Montana<\/a> likely “surprised” the animal while walking down a mountain trail alone in the dark, according to a newly released review that determined the attack was defensive and not predatory.<\/p>\n

The 17-page report from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee<\/a> detailed the final moments of Anthony Pollio, a 33-year-old from Davie, Florida, who was killed on May 3 while hiking the Mount Brown Lookout Trail at Glacier National Park. <\/p>\n

Investigators said Pollio climbed the 5.1-mile trail to watch the sunset and was returning after nightfall when he encountered an adult male grizzly bear at close range.<\/p>\n

“Mr. Pollio, while hiking alone, surprised an adult male grizzly bear on the Mt. Brown Lookout trail,” the report, which was released on July 20, noted. “Based on his last text message, trail condition and distances, he was most likely descending the trail in darkness.”<\/p>\n

A search team found Pollio’s remains 69 feet below the trail, which is about 2-and-a-half miles from the trailhead, on May 6, per the report. It noted that Pollio “sustained fatal injuries consistent with those from a bear attack.” <\/p>\n

The Board of Review<\/a> found that “darkness and deadfall on the trail would have prevented the bear and Mr. Pollio from seeing each other until they were very close.” Pollio discharged a full can of bear spray during the initial encounter, but investigators could not determine whether the spray hit the bear. <\/p>\n

Evidence indicates Pollio fell about 93 feet down a steep slope during the attack, climbed back up about 18 feet, and was then killed when the bear reengaged.<\/p>\n

“Mr. Pollio tumbled down slope, probably while the bear continued its attack, for 93 ft,” according to the report.”We surmise that the bear broke off the attack at that time, allowing Mr. Pollio to climb upslope approximately 18 ft at which point the bear reengaged and killed Mr. Pollio with crushing bites to the head,” the report noted.\"Displaced<\/p>\n

Displaced rock and claw marks on tree below trail indicate rapid movement upslope to trail. (Photo: Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee)<\/p>\n

Wildlife officials determined the bear, “who appears to be a life-long resident of the park and does not have a conflict history” with humans, acted defensively after being startled. <\/p>\n

“The attack was likely brief and intense and not prolonged. There was no consumption or caching of the victim by the bear. There was no evidence that Mr. Pollio was fighting back. After the attack, the bear left the area. Mr. Pollio appears to have been the victim of a defensive attack by a surprised grizzly bear,” the report concluded.<\/p>\n

The report urged hikers to travel in groups, make noise in areas with limited visibility, carry readily accessible bear spray, and avoid hiking at dawn, dusk or after dark, when “surprise encounters” with bears are more likely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"***WARNING: The following article contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.*** WEST GLACIER, Mont. (TNND) \u2014 A hiker…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-355001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}