PABLO – Wildlife officials with the Salish and Kootenai Tribes say they are investigating after a Ronan-area landowner shot and killed a female grizzly bear.
Pablo Espinoza, chief of Tribal Fish and Game, says the landowner shot the bear about 3 miles east of Ronan on May 14 when it returned to the area after killing chickens earlier in the day.
The incident marks the first grizzly bear death reported on the Flathead Indian Reservation this year, but four grizzlies have either been removed or killed within a year because of unprotected livestock.
The bears are protected by the Endangered Species Act.