Acording to a recent article, the hunter who recently died in a grizzly attack in Montana was killed by his partner's bullet, not the bear. See: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2016301708_apushuntergrizzly.html

Alaska writer Craig Medred's article on this at http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/think-gun-makes-you-safer-around-alaska-bears-think-again also includes a link to a study from the Journal of Wildlife Management on the effectiveness of bear spray. See: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/sites/default/files/Bear%20Spray.pdf

What a horrible tragedy! Sad that not only did man and bear both lose their lives, but a 20 year old kid is gonna have walk around for the rest of his life bearing the burden of knowing his shot killed his friend. Terrible.

That is awful. I can't imagine.

Prayers out to all involved and the families of both hunters.

A terrible tragedy.

I'd like to offer up this account of another grizzly encounter that ended far better for all involved - http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/18/gutsy-wrangler-huge-horse-save-boy-from-charging/. It hinged on the most unlikely of things, getting a horse to respond and charge a grizzly and not to follow instinct and run away. I have never seen one myself but I'm convinced that a grizzly encounter is like being in the path of the tornado - sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.

Will there be any manslaughter or the criminal charges brought up the against the hunter for the killing of an animal on the endangered list?

Criminal Manslaughter does include death due to irresponsible and incompetent behaviors. Adrenaline fueled blood lust/panic isn't really an excuse.

Highly unlikely. In most jurisdictions, panic under the described circumstances would be extenuating. Good luck on finding a jury that would convict. IANAL.

They are incredible animals. When you see them just lying around, they can seem kind of clumsy and rolly polly. But when they run....it is just shear raw power and muscle.

Some years ago I shot a brown bear on Kodiak (a sport hunt, not a defense shooting). It was a great adventure, but these days I find I really enjoy just watching them.....with my binoculars from an appropriate distance. On my most recent trip to Denali National Park , a week ago, we were priviledged to see several groups of bears, doing their bear thing.

I would urge people to check out the link to the article on the effectiveness of bear spray. It makes for intersting reading. Here it is again: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/sites/default/files/Bear%20Spray.pdf
Even though, as noted above, I am quite handy with firearms, these days my personal choice is generally to only carry spray when I am out hiking.

Izzy, you just gave me a little bit of hope for the world.
-Blast

That made even me Blast.

I guess the only catch with this case is the hunter originally shot the grizzly thinking it was a black bear; the self defence only came later as they tried to track down the bear he shot.

It will be interesting to see if he ends up getting charged under the Endangered Species Act based on the fact that he shot a protected species due to his misidentification of the animal.