Problem Bear Shot By Montana Official Grizzly Raided Hunting Camps, Got Into Ranger Station Horse Feed

A state official shot a grizzly bear in the Bob Marshall Wilderness last week after the animal had raided hunting camps, the Montana wildlife agency said.

Hazing failed to send the 2-year-old male bear out of the area, according to the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The animal was shot Friday by Erik Wenum of the agency’s Kalispell office after state and federal officials had conferred.

Grizzly bears are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Tim Manley, a bear management specialist for the state agency, went to the Bob Marshall Wilderness early last week after receiving reports that a bear had gotten into horse pellets stored at the Schafer Meadows ranger station. While Manley was in the area, a hunter reported a grizzly had been in his camp.

The bear also got into horse feed, garbage, a deer carcass and elk quarters at a hunting outfitter’s camp. An electric fence securing the elk quarters failed, and the bear carried one of the quarters away, the wildlife agency said.

The bear was the same one that Manley had captured and fitted with a radio collar several months ago.

Manley said he requested permission to kill the bear after he, Wenum and others had tried to chase the animal away from camp areas Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. The bear had tried to enter several tents, state officials said.

Manley said that since it was a cub, the bear and its mother had been frequenting camps.

After Wenum shot the bear, the body was flown out of the area aboard an airplane using an airstrip at Schafer Meadows.