Glacier Park's: Night of the Grizzlies | PBS Documentary ⁷²⁰ᵖ

I stumbled across this documentary the other day. I thought I would share, because I am unable to find it on YouTube. So, here ya go! Enjoy this terrifying tale of the night 2 Grizzly Bear attacks happened nearly simultaneously in virtually the same location.
This is not a tale to make anyone fear bears, or any animal capable of taking a human life. Bears, and all wildlife, in general, require our respect and space. And this tale is a perfect example. It's impossible to imagine the true fear and pain these two women could not survive. RIP Julie & Michele.

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[OnlyGoodSHHH]

*Purchase the DVD from MontanaPBS here;*

[michelleduplooymalherbe]

WOW!!! iI came accross this documentary by accident and was totally captivated. Being from Africa where we do not know bears at all, I did not realise what dangerous but magnificent animals they are. A very sad tale, but that just shows us again that wild animals are just that - wild - and should always be respected

[ztopics]

The helicopter pilot John Westover is my grandfather 😊

[Government-EconomicsTeacher]

That moment he said he held her hand and realized how important human touch is… so profound. So true. We are all human.
The fact there was a tracker, a doctor, a surgeon and a preacher there isn’t lost on me.

[terrywade]

I remember this so well! I was 15 years old and living in Great Falls, Montana with my family when this happened. My aunt, uncle and cousin came to visit from California and we were all vacationing together in Glacier Park the day after. We camped at Apgar campground and my relatives stayed at Lake MacDonald Lodge. As soon as we set up our camp, we joined them at the Lodge and that’s when we heard about it. The employees at the Lodge were having a memorial for the girls and new signs were posted everywhere about the grizzlies. We’d camped every summer at the Park since I was 11 years old. We’d visited the park at that time while still living in Oklahoma and my Dad fell in love with Montana, so we moved.
My aunt was complaining about all of the smoke and that she thought she wasn’t going to see any “smog” since leaving California! I explained that it was a very dry year and that lightning started fires in the higher elevations and that was thought to have contributed to the bears being driven into areas where more people were. I had never seen fires in Glacier Park before, except for campfires. But the smoke wasn’t the heaviest thing hanging over the park. The concern and sadness of the employees was palpable everywhere. The stories I heard were almost identical to this video. Then, later, the newspapers reported more. There was also a young man from Columbia Falls who was mauled by a grizzly who I thought was one of the 2 party’s mentioned here. But after 54 years, my memory may have merged the stories together. He was bitten in the buttock and part of his scalp was torn off but he survived. I think it happened the same summer in the western part of the park but I can’t be sure. I remember hearing that one of the party’s had a small dog with them and left their food lying around and the other one hung their food from a tree, as they were supposed to. Both groups were “off trail” instead of camping in the campgrounds. I’d heard about the unzipped sleeping bag and one of the girls being pulled from her sleeping bag by the arm and the horrible comments she made before she died, as mentioned here. Their stories have never left me. Whenever I’ve camped, I’ve been reminded to keep my camp clean of any food, burn my trash, store my food in the car under blankets and not have any food packaging or grocery bags visible in it. Bears have learned what food is stored in & can peel a car open like a tin can if they see a brown grocery bag! After moving to California and camping in Yosemite and Sequoia, the bears are “well educated” as to human food storage! The main thing to remember is that you want it as far away from your tent and hidden in the car as possible. A car can be replaced! I never camp under the stars or off trail. I stay in campgrounds near people. But once when I was in Sequoia, I stayed in a housekeeping cabin. It had a potbellied stove on the patio for cooking your food. I still kept my site clean and stored my food in the car. But the people in the cabin next to me left a skillet with bacon fat on their potbelly stove overnight. The racket that bear made, trashing their patio just inches from our doors woke everyone! Everyone started making so much noise, we finally scared it off! There were no cell phones back then & no phones in the cabins to call for help! We not only need to be aware for our own safety but also for others. As nice as our National Parks are, they’re still inhabited by wild animals!

[sarahferguson]

This was such a well done documentary and treated those directly involved with great respect. To hear the survivors and officials tell the story in their own words was chilling.

[jeffkinkaid]

My brother and I spent every summer from 1973 through 1976 climbing mountains in the American and Canadian Rockies. We spent many nights in the Glacier Backcountry and had one experience with a Grizzly. The Male bear followed us around Gunsite Lake Area while we fished and camped. All of our food scraps consisted of the fish entrails left over from our almost daily fish catch. We would always pack those scraps at least 5 miles from our different bivwak areas. The bear would frequently visit our camping area and the nitetime visits would raise the hair on your neck. As the bear seemed to grow bolder we decided to vacate this area.
A book purchased at the park in 1973, explaining these attacks, was always in my Kelty backpack. I still have that book and to this day continue to pray for these young lost souls!

[LatishaLendon]

I can't get enough of this story. I have the ultimate respect for all thats involved. Just here paying my respects

[vs]

That helicopter pilot should have gotten some kind of medal. He was incredibly brave risking his life to save them.

[markadams]

My family visited Granite Park Chalet in mid-July 1967; I was 7 years old (my dad was celebrating his 34th birthday there on the 20th). The couple of bears we saw seemed docile and distant. When we heard about that terrible night in August, we were totally shocked. My brother bought the book when it came out and read it to us; it was our first poignant primer about bears. We'll never forget "The Night of the Grizzlies".

[davekristensen]

I was camping that night in Apgar Campground, Glacier National Park in 1967. I remember how different the air felt to me, and the lighting storm.
I saw the helicopters.

[jeanettewaverly]

I've seen other documentaries on this bizarre and tragic occurance, and I've read the book, as well. Imo, this is by far the best treatment of that terrifying night and its ramifications for bear management in our wild lands. I worked as a seasonal ranger for four summer at Yellowstone and saw many grizzlies during that time. I'll never forget my first sighting of this magnificent and terrifying creature -- It was a life-changing experience and a reminder that we humans are not as all-powerful as we often pretend to be.

[nosnosco]

We get mesmerized with how beautiful and glorious the wilderness is. Yet we forget how dangerous and cruel it becomes.

[erin]

Great doc. I can't believe this hasn't been made into a film. It's already completely written for them. No embellishment of any kind needed. I'm listening to the audiobook now and definitely recommend it. You get a much greater sense of how human behavior led to this, by making the local bears completely unafraid of people.

[kathyandersson]

What an absolute tragedy!!! I am so sorry for the family's loss!!! Just heartbreaking!! May the girls rest in

[travelingjean]

Thank you for posting. This is the first time I heard of this incident. In 1979, my husband and I hiked to Trout Lake and encountered a grizzly eating berries about 30 ft off the trail. Fortunately, it knew we were coming because I had been singing silly songs very loudly. We watched each other as my husband and I slowly deviated a short distance from the trail to give it more space. It was very scary, but what a wonderful experience!

[tinge]

America and Canada are very beautiful countries. I wanna visit them some day. Be proud of ur nature. Bears are awesome.

[harrisonmantooth]

OnlyGoodShhh; Thank you for sharing this Documentary. I can vaguely remember this incident when it happened, what terror gripped the heart of the nation. I was 22 years old at the time and felt so insignificant.

Those two young ladies were taken far too early from their families and friends. My heart goes out to the surviving family members of these young ladies and to all that were affected that night and every day and night since.

May they RIP with God.

[patelliott]

Oh my gosh, didn't know there was a documentary on this. Went to Glacier this summer, bought the book and just read it a few weeks ago. And now this, the icing on the cake. Thanks so much for sharing!

[bttawfiq]

This sounds like an 80s horror movie, I can only imagine what everyone involved had gone through that night..
My sincere prayers to the victims and their families.