A party of three hunters killed an adult male grizzly bear in Grand Teton National Park on Thanksgiving morning, the first such incident ever, officials said.

Officials said the bear “reportedly charged the hunting party,” including a 17 year-old.

Park officials released a statement but would not elaborate. The statement did not say whether the hunters had bear spray.

It is required for those participating inn the Teton hunt.

All day, rangers and outfitters worked to move the bear’s carcass from below Teton Point Overlook to park headquarters in Moose.

All three hunters were from Wyoming, the statement said. Beside the 17-year-old, the other two were 48 and 20.

None was injured.

“The individuals involved had permits to participate in the Elk Reduction Program in Wyoming hunt area 75.” the statement said.

A cow elk carcass, likely from the Grand Teton elk reduction hunt, was nearby, officials said. The site was just east of the Snake River below the overlook.

Rangers closed an area a half mile around the carcass after the incident.

The shooting marks the 51st known or probable grizzly death in the Yellowstone ecosystem this year, the park said. About a third of them are usually related to hunting, the park said.

The incident is under investigation. The bear is protected by the Endangered Species Act.

A man who was elk hunting with his two sons in Grand Teton National Park shot and killed a grizzly bear around 7:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving, several persons who were at the scene said.

Park authorities closed Schwabacher Landing and Snake River bottom lands shortly after 8 a.m. Officials would not release details about the incident Thursday morning or early afternoon.

Park superintendent Mary Gibson Scott would not comment about the bear after visiting a garage where a carcass was taken Thursday afternoon. A spokeswoman said she hoped to release information later in the day.

Two people who talked to a member of the hunting family told a story of the father trying to repel the bear with pepper spray before the sons shot it.

Hunters and photographers gathered at Teton Point lookout above the site of the incident said grizzlies had been roaming the river bottom for weeks. Several elk had been shot in the area recently as part of the park’s elk reduction program, they said.

The encounter took place about a half mile north of Schwabacher’s Landing in timber.

A half dozen rangers carrying a handcart reported to the scene. Outfitters with horses and sleds also went to the area and were seen dragging a load back to the Schwabacher parking area.

Public access is being restricted on the east bank of the Snake River between Schwabacher’s Landing and Teton Point Overlook, Grand Teton spokewoman Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles said.

A team of park law enforcement, biologists and science and resource managers are conducing an investigation into the incident, Anzelmo-Sarles said.