BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte reported more than $23 million in income over four years ending in 2022, as the former technology executive who is seeking reelection to a second term continues to rake in money from investments, according to tax records released by his campaign.

Democrat Ryan Busse, a former firearms industry executive, is challenging Gianforte in November.

Gianforte spent more than $6 million of his own money on a failed bid for governor in 2016. After getting elected to Congress in a 2017 special election, he ran for governor again four years ago and spent more than $7.5 million defeating Democrat Mike Cooney by a wide margin, according to campaign finance reports.

So far this election cycle, he has contributed roughly $47,000 to his campaign, the reports show.

Most of Gianforte’s income since 2019 came from profits on investments, his tax returns indicate. He is paid about $120,000 a year for being governor.

Spokesperson Anna Marian Block said Gianforte was keeping a “commitment to transparency” with Montana residents by releasing his returns.

Since 2005 Gianforte has reported income of more than $265 million, according to previous disclosures. The bulk of that money came after Oracle Corp. bought Gianforte’s Bozeman-based company, RightNow Technologies, for $1.8 billion.

Democrats and Gianforte’s Republican primary opponents sought unsuccessfully in 2020 to turn Gianforte’s huge wealth into a liability, saying he wanted to buy the election.

Busse’s campaign declined to release his tax returns.

A black bear attacked a child inside a tent in Montana on Aug. 11, according to state wildlife officials.

In a statement released on Aug. 13, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said the attack happened at a private campground south of Red Lodge, a city about an hour southwest of Billings.

Wildlife officials said they found “unsecured attractants, including garbage, a cooler, and human food, around and inside the tent where the attack occurred.”

NBC Montana reported the child was a 3-year-old girl, though Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks declined to confirm the victim’s age and gender to TODAY.com on Aug. 13.

The child was taken to a nearby hospital, officials said.

Game wardens and bear specialists from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks set a trap at the campsite on Sunday evening and worked with the campground owner to evacuate the campground by the morning of Aug. 12, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. After the campground was fully evacuated, they set up more traps and snares.

“The bear was captured on the afternoon of Aug. 12, and was shot and killed,” according to the statement from wildlife officials. “The black bear involved in the incident had no history of conflicts. However, the bear had likely become food-conditioned and human-habituated after accessing unsecured attractants in the area.”

“Evidence at the site matched the physical characteristics of the bear and FWP believes the bear killed was the bear involved in the attack.”

Why wild bears frequent human campgrounds

When a wild bear discovers it can eat out of a garbage can or cooler at a campsite, wildlife officials call that becoming habitualized. The bears often stop searching for acorns and other mast (the fruits and nuts of trees and shrubs) and instead go for the easier targets like campground garbage bins and open dumpsters.

A 2019 GPS tracker study of black bears in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee found that nearly all black bears left the safe confines of the park to go into nearby cities.

“The food-conditioned bears had the smallest home-ranges. Because they locked in on trash and other human sources of food, they didn’t have to travel as far,” study author Jessica Braunstein told Knoxville, Tennessee NBC affiliate WBIR.

Staying ‘bear aware’ in bear country

When venturing out into bear country, people should do their best to avoid encountering them, officials said in a release.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks offers the following suggestions:

• Keep food and anything with a scent out of tents.
• Dispose of garbage in bear resistant bins; otherwise, take it with you and dispose of it properly elsewhere. Do not bury or burn garbage.
• Follow local land management agency food storage orders and properly store unattended food and anything else with a scent.

Some food storage options include bear boxes (large metal storage boxes often available at campgrounds) or hard-sided vehicles like a car or RV, though officials say not to leave food in your car for extended periods of time (like a backcountry trip for several days). Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks also suggests investing in a personal IGBC-certified bear resistant container or getting temporary electric fencing.

RED LODGE, Mont. — A black bear mauled and injured a 3-year-old girl in a tent at a private campground in Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park over the weekend, state wildlife officials said.

The girl was attacked at about 10 p.m. Sunday at a campground south of Red Lodge and taken to the hospital in Billings. Fish, Wildlife and Parks didn’t have any information on her condition on Tuesday, game warden Randy Hutzenbiler said.

The campground was evacuated and traps were placed in the area. A bear believed to have been involved was captured and euthanized on Monday afternoon, Hutzenbiler said. The wildlife agency still has traps in the area.

“There were attractants in the area,” Hutzenbiler said, which can include food and unsecured garbage.

The wildlife agency recommends keeping food, garbage and anything with a scent out of tents and stored in bear-resistant containers or vehicles.