Bears in Montana, Yellowstone killed after human conflicts

Wildlife officials confirmed the deaths of two bears last week due to human conflicts.

According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, a landowner along Foothill Road east of Kalispell shot and killed a grizzly bear on July 10, after he discovered the bear getting into a chicken coop.

The bear approached the landowner, according to an FWP news release, when he shot and killed the animal. The man was uninjured in the encounter.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating the incident.

A separate incident involving a black bear in Yellowstone National Park was reported by park staff on Thursday.

According to the release, wildlife staff with the park killed an adult female black bear following a series of incidents at a backcountry campsite.

On June 7, the bear reportedly crushed an unoccupied tent at a campsite located in the Blacktail Deer Creek drainage in the northern part of the park.

On July 11, the same bear climbed the site food storage pole, tore down properly stored food bags, and consumed campers’ food, according to the park.

Although it is uncommon for bears in Yellowstone to obtain human food, when it does occur, bears can quickly become food-conditioned and may act aggressively or dangerously around humans, putting people and wildlife at risk. The bear’s escalating behavior – including property damage and obtaining a significant food reward – posed a clear threat to visitor safety and warranted removal, the release stated.

“We go to great lengths to protect bears and prevent them from gaining access to human food in all areas of the park,” said Kerry Gunther, Yellowstone bear management biologist. “But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. When that happens, we sometimes have to make the difficult decision to remove the bear from the population to protect people and property.”