Pictured: The seasoned Yellowstone National Park employee, 63, mauled to death by mother bear and her cubs while hiking on his own
- The victim was identified Monday as Montana man Lance Crosby, 63
- Long-term employee reported missing Friday and later found dead
- A bear 'definitely' fed on the worker and 'allowed her cubs to do the same'
- The adult female grizzly caught is being kept alive as tests are performed
- If the bear is linked to the death of Crosby, it will be put down
- Fatal bear attack is the first in Yellowstone since 2011, after a spate in 2010
Rangers have caught a grizzly bear that they believe was involved in the first fatal bear attack in Yellowstone National Park since 2011, a park spokeswoman said Monday.
The body of Lance Crosby, 63 - an experienced hiker from Billings, Montana, who had lived and worked in Yellowstone for the last five seasons - was found on Friday near Lake Village after he went hiking alone off-trail on Thursday, without bear spray.
Crosby, who was only identified on Monday, was a seasonal employee of Medcor, a company contracted to operate medical clinics in the park.
In 2010 and 2011 there were five fatal bear attacks in the greater Yellowstone area, which includes the park and surrounding areas of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Crosby is the first victim in four years.
Killed: Lance Crosby, 63 (pictured), an experienced hiker from Billings, Montana, who lived and worked in Yellowstone for the last five seasons, was found dead on Friday near Lake Village. He had been mauled by a female grizzly bear and her cub, like the ones pictured here
Park biologists set a trap Friday that caught a female bear but not the cub that is believed to have been with her.
The sow is being kept alive while tests are carried out to confirm it was involved in the attack.
If it was, it will be put down, Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk said in a statement.
'We may not be able to conclusively determine the circumstances of this bear attack, but we will not risk public safety,' he added.
Yellowstone spokeswoman Julena Campbell said the cubs, if captured, would be killed or adopted by a zoo or rehabilitation center.
The circumstances of the attack are unknown.
'It's impossible for us to determine if it was a surprise encounter... or if it was more of what the biologists call a predatory attack,' Campbell told the Jackson Hole News & Guide.
'What we do know is that after the bear killed him she definitely fed on him and allowed her cubs to do the same thing.
'Because of that behavior we have more limited options.'
'Area closed': A sign warns the public that the trail Lance Crosby had been walking when he was attacked is now shut off until further notice
There are between 674 and 839 grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park (pictured) although attacks on humans are rare. The last reported one at the park was in 2011
The attack occurred off-trail about a half-mile from the popular Elephant Back Loop Trail.
The trail and surrounding area have been closed to the public until further notice.
Campbell said the man carried no pack or bear spray and did not disclose his plans to anyone.
Bruising around puncture wounds on the man's forearms suggest he had tried to defend himself, Campbell said.
After his body was found, nine rangers traveled to the scene together as a precaution.
Bears were seen in the area, and some rangers reported hearing 'barking calls' that bears use to communicate with their cubs.
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