A 72-year-old was picking blueberries alone in a Montana forest when he was attacked by a grizzly bear

COLUMBIA FALLS, Montana (CNN) — A 72-year-old Montana man shot and killed a grizzly bear after it attacked him while he was picking blueberries alone, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said.

The man was hospitalized after the encounter, which occurred Thursday night near Columbia Falls on the Flathead National Forest property, the agency said in a news release.

FWP rangers and bear specialists called the incident a “surprise defensive encounter.”

The man reportedly shot the bear with a handgun after the adult female grizzly charged him, the news release said. FWP responded to the incident and confirmed the bear had been killed.

Officials said they are now investigating whether the bear has cubs with it.

“Montana is bear country. People should be prepared to encounter grizzly or black bears in Montana. Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts,” the agency said in the release, which outlined precautions to prevent “negative bear encounters,” such as carrying bear spray and traveling in groups.

According to the North American Bear Center, grizzly bears, which live in the U.S. states of Montana, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming and Washington, eat berries as part of their diet.

According to the University of Washington, blueberries in particular, which are ripest in mid-July, make up about half the diet of the hundreds of grizzly bears that live in Montana’s Glacier National Park area, just north of Columbia Falls.

According to the National Park Service, bears are rarely attacked. Most bears are primarily interested in protecting their habitat, food, or young.

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