Park rangers kill food-conditioned bear

Busy month for bear managers

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Rangers euthanized a black bear in Glacier National Park on June 17 after the bear exhibited food-conditioned behavior.

The bear was captured June 15 after it entered a Park residence near the Park entrance east of Many Glacier. The bear broke several windows and a screen door and managed to enter the residence after breaking through the back door.

Park rangers say it appears the bear rummaged through garbage and recycling while inside the residence. No people were injured during the incident.

Rangers say they’ve seen the same bear physically contacting visitor vehicles while foraging for food near the Many Glacier Road. The bear was determined to be a food-conditioned bear and a potential threat to human safety.

After Park personnel verified that the correct animal had been captured through distinct markings, the bear was euthanized in accordance with the Park’s Bear Management Plan. The male bear was about five years old and weighed 160 pounds.

Food-conditioned bears are not relocated due to human safety concerns, the Park said in a press release. Black bears are not good candidates for animal capture facilities such as zoos and animal parks because of their high numbers.

• In a similar wildlife management case, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks reports that its personnel euthanized a yearling black bear near Lake Mary Ronan on June 10.

The bear was euthanized because it got too close to people in campgrounds during the day. Camp foods and garbage were left available for the bear, teaching it that people are a resource for food.

As the foraging continued, the bear became more determined to get the foods, even in occupied camp sites. This became a dangerous situation and was deemed a significant threat to human safety.

Mountain Meadows RV Park made every effort to contain their attractants, FWP said in a press release, and the State Park enforced their food storage order. While other campgrounds in the area were likely experiencing similar problems, no problems were reported.

• FWP wardens are assisting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an investigation into the deaths of three young grizzly bears found in the Ferndale area.

Ferndale resident Zena Pirone said she had grown fond of watching a mother grizzly bear and her cubs periodically wander through her property, so when she learned the cubs had been shot and killed, she was upset.

“I just want to cry, it’s just horrible,” she said.

FWP grizzly bear management specialist Tim Manley said the family of bears had been coming to the Ferndale neighborhood for a while, eating chickens and getting into garbage cans, bird seed and dog food that weren’t properly stored. FWP had set six traps to catch the bears when Manley learned they had been shot.

“We were dealing with those bears for basically about a month,” Manley said.

The mother grizzly had separated from three cubs about two weeks earlier so she could go mate, Manley said. Newly independent, the cubs returned to Ferndale where they were killed.

Anyone with information on the death of these bears are asked to call 1-800-TIP-MONT. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

• In the Whitefish Range, FWP biologists captured two young female grizzly bears for a grizzly bear population augmentation program in the Cabinet Range.

The two-year old siblings were trapped in the Deadhorse Creek drainage and relocated today to the Cabinet Range on June 20. They have no history of conflict with humans and have never been captured before.

The bears, which were released above Spar Lake in the Kootenai National Forest, are the 12th and 13th grizzly bears to be released into the Cabinet Range as part of the augmentation program since 2005.