Worth a second look

Black bear hunters in an even wider swath of Idaho must take a second look before taking a shot to filling their tags.

A hunter killed a grizzly bear in the Kelly Creek drainage on Sept. 3, Idaho Fish and Game Department officials verified last week.

The Tennessee hunter apparently dropped his guard and failed to distinguish the grizzly, a federally protected species, from a black bear. It’s the first grizzly verified since 1946 on the Idaho side of the 5,700-square-mile Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem in central Idaho and western Montana.

The hunter and his guide notified Idaho Fish and Game officials of the shooting. No charges have yet been filed.

The 6- to 10-year-old male, about 450 pounds, with a silvery back and in good physical condition, was killed three miles from the Montana border.