Officials trap, move grizzly bear
A grizzly bear that was making visits to the small town of Nordman, Idaho, was trapped and moved this month.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game last week announced that an adult male grizzly had been captured during the night of Sept. 12, after weeks of reported sightings.
Idaho Fish and Game Conservation Officers Rob Soumas and Brian Johnson investigated the bear sightings and placed a culvert trap, according to a press release.
Though the bear wasn’t reported to be aggressive, Fish and Game said “it appeared to be losing its fear of humans.”
“That generally does not bode well for people or the bear,” Soumas said in the release. “A bear that becomes too familiar with people is eventually going to get into trouble.”
Soumas said the officers decided to trap and relocate the bear so that wouldn’t happen.
The bear was caught in the trap the night of Sept. 12, taken to Bonners Ferry and tranquilized. A radio collar was placed on the animal.
Fish and Game estimated the bear to be 7 or 8 years old and weigh 330 pounds.
The grizzly was kept overnight for observation and released Sept. 14 in Grass Creek, an area Fish and Game described as a “remote drainage about 25 miles from the capture location, near the border with British Columbia.”
Biologist Wayne Wakkinen described the area as “excellent bear habitat.”
“Hopefully the bear will find some good huckleberries and remain in the area,” he said in the release.
Because the bear is collared, Wakkinen said that if it returns to a populated area, Fish and Game will be able to find it “and take any necessary action.”
If the bear does return, Wakkinen said “aversive conditioning” would be used to “teach the bear that its presence won’t be tolerated near people.”
Aversive conditioning includes harassment techniques like shooting rubber slugs, buckshot or bean bags at the bear, he said. If those methods prove unsuccessful, Wakkinen said Fish and Game could be forced to move or kill the animal.
Because the grizzly is an endangered species, he said that would only be done with permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.