Three grizzlies killed by vehicles

It has been a deadly week for grizzly bears near Bigfork.

In the last week, three grizzly bears were hit and killed by vehicles in northwest Montana, according to grizzly bear specialist Tim Manley. The morning of Oct. 27, a female cub of the year was found dead just north of mile marker 18 on Highway 35 along Flathead Lake. That cub had not been previously captured and its stomach was full of apples.

The second grizzly was hit and killed by a logging truck the night of October 27th, on Highway 83, the Swan Highway, near mile marker 50. That bear was an adult male grizzly. This male grizzly had been captured in 2011 near Lake Blaine and released in the Spotted Bear drainage. 

The third grizzly bear was found dead Nov. 2 along Montana 83. This bear was a yearling female. There have been reports of grizzly bears feeding on road-killed deer along the Swan Highway. 

The Montana Department of Transportation and Fish, Wildlife and Parks try to remove the road-killed deer from the highway corridor to minimize bears and other wildlife from being attracted to those carcasses.