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Wildlife

Montana Officials Kill Three Grizzlies After Livestock Attacks

The bears were euthanized because of a history of killing livestock including sheep, llamas, chickens and a goat

By Associated Press

GREAT FALLS – Montana wildlife officials said Tuesday that state bear management specialists killed a pair of grizzly bears near Whitefish that had been involved in numerous livestock attacks, just a week after a bear was shot and killed for preying on cattle near Dupuyer.

An adult female grizzly bear was captured on Monday and its yearling captured on Tuesday in the Haskill Basin area, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said.

The bears were euthanized because of a history of killing livestock including sheep, llamas, chickens and a goat.

An adult male grizzly bear in the Dupuyer area was killed last week after it was suspected of attacking calves across numerous ranches.

The 450-pound bear in that case was shot after repeated attempts to trap the animal failed. The bear had been seen in photos from game cameras set up where the calves had been killed.

The bear killed near Dupuyer will be provided to the Blackfeet Tribe fish and wildlife agency for distribution to tribal members for cultural purposes.

Grizzly bears are protected as a threatened species under federal law and hunting of them is not allowed. But since their populations have rebounded in Montana grizzlies have run into frequent conflicts with humans and can be killed by government wildlife agents following livestock attacks.