On October 13th,a 370 pound, 3 year old female grizzly bear was captured by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) near the confluence of Fortine and Graves Creek after getting into grain at a private residence. The female had been previously captured in 2014 as a yearling during trapping for a family group up Meadow Creek west of Fortine.
Due to her previous capture and travels with her mother, we know that part of her home range included the Salish Range. The Interagency decision was made to translocate her back into the Salish Range on Friday.
The grizzly bear was fitted with a GPS radio collar to monitor her movements. MT FWP will try and work with the landowner to erect electric fencing to keep bears from accessing grain in the future.
For more information about living in Bear Country you can visit the MT FWP web page at http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/livingWithWildlife/beBearAware/default.html. For information on electric fencing visit http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/livingWithWildlife/beBearAware/bearAwareTools.html.
