A wounded black bear hurt a man near Thompson Falls earlier this week.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials say that game wardens received a report on Tuesday that an archery hunter was hunting elk in a drainage located off Prospect Creek when the hunter saw a black bear.

FWP’s John Fraley says the hunter waited several hours after shooting the bear in an attempt to make sure it was dead before he started tracking the animal. The hunter found the wounded bear and it was still alive.

The hunter shot the bear two more times with his bow, and after the final shot, the bear ran several yards down the hill into the non-hunting companion of the archery hunter who had just arrived.

The bear grabbed and bit his arm and after a brief struggle the bear died.

Fraley says the encounter happened within 100 yards of the road and the two were able to quickly get back to their vehicles and drive to the Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains where the man was treated for his injuries and released.

Fraley says the female bear weighed between 140 and 150 pounds, and was found less than 100 yards from the main roadway on USFS property.