Grizzly killed near Priest Lake

PRIEST LAKE, Idaho – Wildlife officials shot and killed a grizzly bear after state and federal authorities deemed the animal too habituated to humans.

The 200-pound, 2-year-old male grizzly was killed Thursday after it was seen near a Nordman-area home. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials authorized the kill, agreeing with Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologists that the bear could not be safely relocated.

“This is a classic example of the bad that can happen when people artificially feed wildlife,” said Idaho Fish and Game biologist Wayne Wakkinnen. “People were placed at risk and at least one – and perhaps two – grizzly bears will end up removed from an already small population.”

A second grizzly – believed to be the killed bear’s brother – was fitted with a radio collar and relocated Friday, officials said.

The bear that was killed had become accustomed to humans after raiding deer feeders, bird feeders and chicken coops, officials said. In August wildlife officials trapped the bear, fitted it with a radio collar and relocated it 25 miles away, but it was back to the Nordman region within weeks.

Idaho Fish and Game conservation educator Phil Cooper said one homeowner walked off her deck in late September and found the bear staring at her from a few feet away. The same day, it walked past a man and some boys fishing Priest River.

The bear wasn’t aggressive but stood its ground around humans, officials said. On at least one occasion, it “woofed” at a home owner from the home’s front porch. Another time, the bear approached hunters as they cooked steaks over a fire.

Wakkinnen said deer feeders were at least partly to blame for the problem.

“Deer do not need to be fed by people to survive, and feeding does nothing but lead to problems for deer and other wildlife,” Wakkinnen said.