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A grizzly bear cub captured near Whitefish on July 10 by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will be moved to a sanctuary in Pennsylvania along with its sibling. The cubs' mother was euthanized after repeatedly raiding garbage and chicken coops, even after relocation in 2020.
Three grizzly bears were euthanized by Montana wildlife managers in early July after repeatedly getting into garbage around the Flathead region.
A pair of cubs with one of the bears is being sent to a sanctuary in Pennsylvania.
All three grizzlies were killed after capture by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks on July 10. An adult female with cubs was captured near Lupfer Meadows north of Whitefish. A pair of male grizzlies between 2.5 and 3.5 years old was captured in the Blankenship area north of Columbia Falls. FWP announced the actions on Friday afternoon.
Dillon Tabish, a spokesperson for FWP Region 1, said on Friday that he knew of seven total grizzlies, including those three, that had been euthanized in the area so far this year. All were food-conditioned, he said. He can't assess how this season ranks compared to others until the fall, he said, but he noted that bear managers across western Montana have been particularly busy this year.
The adult female had been captured and relocated to Glacier National Park in 2020 after raiding garbage and chicken coops around Columbia Falls, the agency said. The bear continued to raid homes after relocation, including breaking into sheds and garages in search of food.
"FWP consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and determined it was necessary to euthanize the adult female because of severe food conditioning, which occurs when an animal loses its natural foraging behavior and continues to seek unnatural food sources, creating a public safety risk," the agency stated.
The bear's two cubs were initially transported to FWP's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Helena and are slated to move permanently to Rivendale Wildlife Sanctuary outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The accredited facility just completed a new grizzly enclosure, Tabish said, and "the stars aligned" that FWP was able to find the facility after a nationwide search and it was able to take the cubs. Otherwise, he said, FWP would have killed the cubs.
The pair of bears captured north of Columbia Falls had followed a similar trajectory: They too had previously been captured after conflicts but continued to raid coops and garbage. After consultation, both bears were euthanized on July 11.
A grizzly bear cub captured near Whitefish on July 10 by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will be moved to a sanctuary in Pennsylvania along with its sibling. The cubs' mother was euthanized after repeatedly raiding garbage and chicken coops, even after relocation in 2020.
FWP encouraged people to secure or remove bear attractants around homes, and noted that "bear-resistant containers and a properly constructed electrified fence are proven effective at deterring bears."
Previously, on June 23, grizzly managers captured and euthanized a 3-year-old female grizzly near Silver Butte, south of Libby, after it repeatedly raided a chicken coop there. That bear was first captured after raiding coops near Whitefish in 2021 and relocated to Puzzle Creek near Marias Pass.
On May 27, bear managers euthanized an aging grizzly captured the day before because it was habituated to humans along the North Fork of the Flathead River near Glacier National Park. The bear, estimated to be about 22 years old, was in poor health.
Also in late May, bear managers in Missoula captured and euthanized a young female grizzly that lost one of its front paws in what FWP bear manager Jamie Jonkel called a "high-impact injury."
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A grizzly bear cub captured near Whitefish on July 10 by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will be moved to a sanctuary in Pennsylvania along with its sibling. The cubs' mother was euthanized after repeatedly raiding garbage and chicken coops, even after relocation in 2020.
A grizzly bear cub captured near Whitefish on July 10 by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will be moved to a sanctuary in Pennsylvania along with its sibling. The cubs' mother was euthanized after repeatedly raiding garbage and chicken coops, even after relocation in 2020.
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