GREAT FALLS – A 300-pound grizzly bear that was chased by border collies took refuge in the basement of an unfinished apartment at a new Hutterite colony near Choteau.
Mike Madel, a grizzly bear management specialist with the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, says he’s never seen a grizzly bear hide in a building in his 25 years with the agency.
Madel says the bear showed up at the new Elk Creek Colony about 8 a.m. Friday. The cattle dogs chased the bear, which jumped through a doorway and ran into the basement.
Madel says a group of men got within 10 to 15 feet of the bear and took pictures. He says the bear probably didn’t charge because it was intimidated by the number of people.
Game wardens tranquilized the bear, fitted it with a radio collar and released it on the Rocky Mountain Front.