SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - One man was killed and a man and a woman were injured by bear attacks in the middle of the night on Wednesday at a popular campground on the edge of Yellowstone Park, wildlife officials said.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department spokesman Ron Aasheim said it was believed one bear was involved and at least two tents were left in tatters in the attack, which occurred at the height of the tourist season.
The last fatal bear attack in Montana occurred in 2001, when a grizzly mauled and killed a hunter who was butchering an elk, Aasheim said.
Wednesday's attacks occurred at about 4 a.m. in the Soda Butte campground in the Gallatin National Forest on the northern fringe of Yellowstone near Bozeman, Montana. It was not known whether a black bear or a grizzly was involved.
Soda Butte, in a park known for its trout fishing, was evacuated and nearby campgrounds were closed, Aasheim said. Wildlife officials used airplanes and helicopters in an extensive a search for the bear.
The identity of those attacked was not disclosed. The injured people were taken to a hospital in Cody, Wyoming.
The Billings Gazette newspaper reported that the woman suffered severe lacerations from bites on her arms, while the injured man was bitten in the leg.
Aasheim said the attacks appeared to be unprovoked, and that the presence of food, which often attracts bears and other wildlife into campgrounds, did not appear to be a factor. Such "random predatory" bear attacks on humans are rare, he said.
An investigation was under way into the attacks.
(Additional reporting by James Nelson in Salt Lake City; Editing by Steve Gorman and David Storey)
