BOISE -- Wildlife officials in eastern Idaho on Sunday morning began searching for a bear wounded by elk hunters a day earlier as they tried to retrieve an elk carcass in the Island Park area west of Yellowstone National Park.
Steve Schmidt of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game says three Fish and Game officers and one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer are conducting the search while carrying rifles and shotguns.
Officials initially said the bear was a grizzly but on Sunday said they wouldn't know for sure until wildlife officers found tracks or the bear itself.
The five hunters told officials they went to retrieve the elk Saturday morning when the bear charged. The hunters said they fired about a dozen shots with handguns and a shotgun before the bear turned and ran, leaving behind a blood trail.
