GREAT FALLS — Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks staff confirmed a grizzly bear is roaming in north central Montana.
The sighting near Big Sandy is the furthest expansion east of known grizzly bear movement, The Great Falls Tribune reports.
The bear has at times moved more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) per day since it was spotted last week near Conrad, which suggests a young, wandering male, the department said.
During that time the bear accessed dog food and garbage and killed two chickens on properties in the area.
Grizzly bears on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountain Front have expanded in numbers and dispersed into areas where they have not existed for decades, the department said.
Grizzly bear specialists, wardens and other wildlife personnel are monitoring the bear and contacting landowners.
“We try our best to communicate the locations of grizzly bears in areas where people don’t expect them to be or where they are new,” grizzly bear conflict specialist Wesley Sarmento said.
“However, we never know where they will show up next,” Sarmento said, noting the bear could be anywhere within a 100-square-mile (259-square-kilometer) area on any given day.