fbpx
Wildlife

Montana Wildlife Officials Euthanize Grizzly Bear Near Avon

Officials believed the euthanized bear was possibly responsible for four attacks, including two yearlings killed over the weekend

By Associated Press
Grizzly bear. Photo courtesy of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

HELENA – Authorities in Montana have trapped and killed a grizzly bear after it was accused of killing yearlings on a ranch near Avon.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks grizzly specialist Rory Trimbo said ranchers riding horseback were checking cattle on Saturday when they came across the bear on a horse carcass, the Independent Record reported.

U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel responded to the incident on the ranch, west of Helena. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials inspected the area the following day, discovered another dead yearling and set a trap nearby.

The trap caught an angry 411-pound (186-kilogram) grizzly bear that was taken to Missoula where it was euthanized, said Jamie Jonkel, bear specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Officials believed the euthanized bear was possibly responsible for four attacks, including two yearlings killed over the weekend, Jonkel said.

“Usually when we get adult males that kill multiple livestock on the first incident that’s fairly common,” Jonkel said. “If we don’t know, a lot of times they’re relocated. And if they come back and kill another sheep or kill another calf, then that’s a no-brainer. But the evidence was quite clear that he had killed these two last yearlings.”