Grizzly, two yearlings captured after freezer break-ins

KALISPELL – Montana wildlife officials have captured an adult female grizzly bear and two yearlings after the animals broke into small freezers outside a mobile home.

The sow, a 9-year-old adult that weighed 309 pounds, was fitted with a GPS radio collar.

The three were caught east of Bigfork and moved to a different area on May 17.

The Flathead Beacon reported a landowner contacted Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks after the bears visited the freezers two nights in a row. A temporary electric fence was erected around the freezers and remote cameras were deployed to determine if more than one bear was present.

After viewing the bears returning to the freezers undeterred by the fence, managers decided to capture and relocate the bears.