A 60-year-old Kalispell man, bitten twice on the leg by a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park, was released from a hospital Monday night.
His wife told The Associated Press that Thomas Nerison had emergency surgery at Kalispell Regional Medical Center after a grizzly bit him Sunday morning on the calf and thigh of his right leg. Doreen Nerison said her husband’s doctor told him he’ll likely undergo a second operation Wednesday.
Nerison told park rangers he was bitten about 9:45 a.m. Sunday when two grizzlies charged up from behind while he was jogging on Lake McDonald Valley Trail on the park’s west side. He said the bears appeared to be running from something that startled them.
Nerison was able to walk to Going-to-the-Sun Road, got a ride from a visitor back to his own car and drove himself to the hospital.
Doreen Nerison said her husband was wearing heavy running tights, which may have prevented the bear from taking a big chunk out of his leg.
“The bear pierced him in his calf and his thigh,” she said. “He’s lucky to have had so few injuries.”
Thomas Nerison, reached by telephone in his hospital room shortly before his release, declined to speak to a reporter.
During an interview after the incident, Nerison told a ranger that he normally carries bear spray. However, he did not have bear spray with him when he encountered the bears.
Park rangers are investigating the incident and, based on their findings, park managers will determine whether any further actions will be taken.