Wildlife Officials Capture and Kill Grizzly Bear Near Coram

Reports of a 575-pound adult male grizzly bear that was damaging private property in the Coram area prompted wildlife officials to capture and kill the bruin, which had become conditioned to human food, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said Friday.

In a press release sent Friday, agency officials announced that the grizzly bear had broken out the back window of a truck to get horse feed, pried open a refrigerator on a porch, and tried getting into a slide-in camper.

According to FWP Grizzly Bear Management Specialist Tim Manley, officials set a culvert trap and remote cameras on Wednesday night next to the camper. While setting the trap, a radio signal from the collar of the bear, which had previously been captured, was detected and the grizzly bear was captured less than an hour later.

FWP personnel also received second-hand reports of a large grizzly bear getting food rewards at other residences in the Coram area, but were never contacted by the landowners.

“On Thursday the decision was made to remove the grizzly bear from the population due to his behavior of repeatedly breaking into vehicles and structures to get food,” according to the press release.

The bear, which was 12-15 years old, was drugged by FWP personnel and euthanized by a local veterinarian. He was in good physical condition and his hide and skull will be kept for educational purposes.

The grizzly had been previously captured on Sept. 8 at another Coram residence after breaking into a chicken coop and killing chickens. There were also apples in his scat indicating he had been in other yards feeding on apples. The bear was radio-collared and released in the Puzzle Creek drainage south of Marias Pass, about 40 straight line-miles from Coram. At the time, the grizzly bear weighed 482 pounds.

“The worst part of my job is having to remove a grizzly bear from the population because it has become food-conditioned and starts causing property damage,” Manley said. “The key to reducing human/bear conflicts is prevention. A grizzly bear doesn’t just start breaking into structures overnight to get food.”

Manley added that when people put out birdseed, corn for turkeys, deer blocks, or leave garbage or pet food outside where bears can access it, that teaches bears to come around houses to look for food.

“When they find that food, they are rewarded, and it reinforces that behavior of going to houses to look for more food,” he said.

Once they receive food rewards, some bears may start testing outbuildings, barns, vehicles, and chicken coops to access food that has been stored inside, Manley said. Bears that are extremely food-conditioned may even start breaking into unoccupied cabins and houses to get food.

“Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with any grizzly bears that have broken into occupied homes,” Manley said. “I attribute that to the fact that most grizzly bears try to avoid houses that are occupied by people, but also because we try to remove grizzly bears from the population when they start causing property damage. About 90 percent of the grizzly bear conflicts that I deal with occur on private property. If a grizzly bear shows up at your house or camp, it is because it has either gotten food at your place or at another residence. If it repeatedly shows up at your house or camp, that is because it is getting food at your place even though you might not be aware of it. Again, most human/bear conflicts can be prevented if people wouldn’t put or leave out food that attracts bears.”

For more information about living in bear country visit FWP’s website at http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/livingWithWildlife/beBearAware/