524-Pound Male Grizzly Bear Captured, Released in the Yaak
First grizzly bear captured for management reasons in the Cabinet-Yaak this year
By Beacon Staff
Wildlife officials relocated a 17-year-old male grizzly after it killed a domestic pig in the Yaak valley.
Last week Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials captured a 524-pound male grizzly in the Seventeen Mile Creek area of the Yaak. The homeowners alerted FWP of the incident and wildlife officials loaned them an electrified fence to secure all of their small livestock. A trap was set and the bear was captured four days later. The bear was GPS collared and relocated in the upper Pete Creek drainage in the Yaak the evening of Sept. 29, according to FWP.
FWP identified the bear as having been born in the Yaak in 1999. The bear was previously captured and collared for research purposes for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear population monitoring program. The killing of the unsecured pig was this bear’s first known conflict with people, according to FWP.
This is the first grizzly bear to be captured for management reasons in the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear population in 2016, FWP said.
FWP officials encourage residents to use electric fencing to secure their small livestock from bears.