Captured griz is brother of Flathead Lake swimmer

A three-year-old male grizzly was captured at Kuhns Wildlife Management Area on Farm To Market Road on Sept. 22 after it had an encounter with a bowhunter three days earlier. Grizzly bears have been known to use the popular youth hunting area in the past, especially during spring and summer.

According to Fish, Wildlife and and Parks, the bowhunter returned to Kuhns to track a deer that had been wounded the previous day when he encountered the grizzly on the deer carcass. When the bear came toward him, the man yelled and the bear left.

The bear was captured, fitted with a radio collar and released at Elk Mountain on the Stillwater-Kootenai divide, about 25 miles northwest of Kuhns. Elk Mountain has been pre-approved as a nuisance grizzly bear release site by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. FWP Region 1 wildlife program manager Jim Williams said the pre-emptive move was made in the interest of public safety, he said.

FWP grizzly bear management specialist Tim Manley found an ear tag chip with some history behind it on the 380-pound bear. The grizzly had been captured as a yearling in the valley two years ago, along with its sibling and an adult female grizzly. The group was relocated to the Spotted Bear area. The Kuhns bear's female sibling is the now well-known grizzly that swam across Flathead Lake this past year.