Officials with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks caught and relocated two large grizzlies near Bigfork earlier this month during a trapping effort to capture a calf-killing bear that remains at large.
On April 2, a landowner reported that a newborn calf had been killed on his property near Mud Lake, while a second calf was missing. There were large grizzly tracks at the site, and investigators determined a large grizzly killed and consumed the missing calf.
The investigation showed that the bears trapped by FWP officials were not involved in the April 2 incident involving the deaths of the two calves, but FWP Grizzly Bear Specialist Tim Manely radio-collared and relocated the bears and continued trying to capture the target bear.
“Even though neither bear that was captured was involved with the depredation, the decision was made to move them a short distance out of the area in order to attempt to capture the target bear,” according to a press release from the FWP. “After additional trap nights and checking remote cameras, there was no more activity at the trap site and the traps and cameras were removed on April 16.”
Still, Manley said the incident serves as a warning to landowners that grizzlies and black bears have been emerging from hibernation since March.
“While several grizzly bears have been out of their dens since the end of March, most of the grizzly bears and black bears will be emerging from their dens over the next couple of weeks,” Manley stated.
Residents living in or adjacent to bear country are reminded to put away and secure attractants (garbage, bird feeders, pet food) to avoid attracting bears to your property. If you have chickens or other poultry, sheep, goats, pigs, bees, or young calves, you should protect them with a well-built and maintained electric fence to prevent problems with bears or other wildlife.
The Bigfork landowner who lost the calves put up some electric fencing around the remaining cows and calves during the trapping operation and there have not been any additional depredations.
Paperwork from the investigation was submitted to the Montana State Livestock Loss Board that pays for livestock that are killed by grizzly bears.
Manley determined that neither of the captured grizzlies were involved with the calf killings based on remote camera photos and track measurements.
The first male grizzly that was captured weighed 364 pounds and was 5 years old. He was relocated in the Emery Creek area near Hungry Horse Reservoir.
The second bear weighed 456 pounds and was 8 years old. He was released in the South Fork of Lost Creek in the Swan Range.