Grizzly Captured After Raiding Town’s Garbage

The capture of a grizzly bear caused excitement Thursday at the Nordman Bar and Store, near the upper end of Priest Lake.

Although a few grizzlies roam the nearby Selkirk Mountains, it’s unusual for them to show up at lower elevations.

“It’s really remarkable,” said Lisa Votava, who owns the bar with her husband, Randy. “Our back yard was made protected grizzly territory a few years ago, but we never expected to see one.”

Traps were set by Idaho Department of Fish and Game staff members, and the bear was captured about 4:30 a.m. Thursday. It was radio-collared, then taken into the mountains to be released.

Conservation officer Don Carr first got a report on the bear Monday evening. “It found a road-killed deer just north of Nordman and had dragged it into the woods about 30 yards,” he said.

The area is normal spring range for grizzlies, Carr said, but it’s rare to see a bear there in the fall. In 15 years of patrolling the area, Carr had never seen a grizzly get into someone’s garbage.

He attributed the situation to the fact that the young bear, about 2-1/2 years old, had recently been kicked out on its own by its mother.

“He’s a lot like a teenager who doesn’t know what’s what. He found that road kill and stayed around.”

The bear was released “as far north in the grizzly bear recovery area as we could manage” in the snow, Carr said.

Grizzlies are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Authorities fear the young bear will become used to eating garbage.

, DataTimes