A woman was found dead on a trail near the west of Yellowstone National Park after apparently coming in contact with a grizzly bear amid concerns over the rising population of the animal in the area.
Amie Adamson, 47, was identified by family as the woman found dead on Saturday in the Montana town that is nestled in the Custer Gallatin national forest.
Loved ones described her as an avid hiker who was “in heaven” while on the trails near Yellowstone.
“Every morning, she’d get up early, and she’d walk, hike or run,” her mother, Janet Adamson, told Good Morning America.
“Running through that beauty of Yellowstone - she was almost in heaven. She died doing what she loved.”
Adamson’s official cause of her death was not immediately confirmed and an investigation into her death is ongoing.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the woman was found deceased “following an apparent bear encounter”, based on the discovery of grizzly bear tracks at the scene by investigators.
Amie Adamson was killed in an apparent grizzly bear attack near Yellowstone— (Family handout)
The area where the woman was found was immediately ordered closed by the rangers.
The area remains popular among hikers.
The attack comes as concerns are being raised about the rising grizzly bear population and increasing sightings of the animal in the area.
Last week, the department issued a news release to warn the visitors that staff had confirmed sightings of grizzly bears throughout the state, “particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and the Great Yellowstone ecosystems”.
They ordered hikers and tourists coming for camping or visits to the park to carry bear spray, tend to their garbage and store their food while outside to keep the animal away.
In July 2021, a grizzly attacked a person at a western Montana campground who died following fatal injuries.
In April same year, a guide was killed by a grizzly bear while he was fishing near Yellowstone national park border.
A grizzly bear was found dead near the area of the Yellowstone park that lies in Wyoming this year.
An investigation was launched by authorities from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and Wyoming Game and Fish Department after the bear was found in May this year.
Grizzlies are under federal jurisdiction in Wyoming and the USFWS said at the time that it could not comment on the state of the investigation amid concerns that the 500-pound bear was deliberately shot and killed.
