Grizzly put down after mauling man at wildlife casting agency

A 24-year-old man was mauled to death while cleaning a grizzly bear enclosure at a wildlife casting agency in south-west Montana.

The man was mauled by one or all of the captive-bred grizzly bears at the Animals of Montana facility north of Bozeman, Sheriff Brian Gootkin said.

Chuck Watson, attorney for Animals of Montana’s owner, Troy Hyde, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle the grizzly had to be put down to recover the victim.

“It’s obviously a tragic situation, and I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly what happened,” Watson said.

Animals of Montana provides captive-bred animals for photoshoots and motion pictures, ranging from African lions and minks to badgers and bobcats. Its website said it had three grizzly bears.