Black Bear Euthanized near Lake Mary Ronan
By angelamontana

Posted: June 19, 2014

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks personnel euthanized a yearling black bear in the Lake Mary Ronan area on Tuesday June 10th. The bear was euthanized because of its close proximity to people in campgrounds during the day. Camp foods and garbage were left available for the bear, teaching it that people are a resource for food. As the foraging continued the bear became more determined to get the foods even in occupied campsites. This became a dangerous situation and was a significant threat to human safety.

Mountain Meadows RV Park made every effort to contain their attractants, and the State Park enforced their food storage order. While other campgrounds in the area were likely experiencing similar problems, no problems were reported.

FWP reminds everyone to be bear aware. All of Northwest Montana is prime black bear habitat, and it is common to see bears passing through. Lake Mary Ronan is in the heart of bear country and has bears passing through at any given time. Therefore it is important to lock up all attractants and foods while away from camp as well as to report bear sightings and problems in order to avoid this problem in the future.

(Report by Montana FWP)

New Podcast!

Riley's Meats - Butte Wild Game Processing