Grizzly bears fared well this year

By CHRIS PETERSON / Hungry Horse News

It's been a fairly good year for grizzly bears in the greater Glacier Park area. This year 11 bears were killed due to human circumstances, according to figures provided by Chris Servheen, the grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.

"This year there was a good food crop," Servheen said. "There were lots of berries."

A good berry crop meant that bears weren't roaming as much for food, and they stayed away from humans more than usual.

Last year, human's caused 26 mortalities in one form or another. Over the past nine years, human-caused mortality has averaged 19.8 bears a year.

Of the 11 bears killed this year, seven were females and three were males. Two of the bears were killed in an augmentation program in the Cabinet-Yaak region after being transported from this area. One was shot by a homeowner after it was getting into his garbage in Noxon, and the other was hit by a train near the Clark Fork River.

Even if the bears hadn't died, Servheen said they would count as mortalities because they were taken from the NCDE.

Despite the bears' deaths, Servheen said the augmentation program should continue.

"I deeply think it's worth continuing," he said. Grizzly bear numbers in the Cabinet-Yaaks are extremely low — roughly just 30 grizzlies inhabit the 2,600-square mile region.

Augmentation is seen as one way to boost numbers there. By introducing young females, the hope is that they'll establish home ranges and have cubs, boosting the grizzly numbers.

Of the 11 bears killed in the NCDE this year, October continued to be the worst month, with four bears killed.

The causes of death varied. Two bears were killed for bear management reasons, one was killed by a hunter in self defense, one was hit by a car, two were the augmentation bears, three were mistaken identifications (meaning they were accidentally shot by hunters), one was killed by a snare during a trapping effort, and there was one unknown mortality.

A report of a sow and cub shot near Babb didn't count, because biologists, even after using dogs, were unable to locate the bears, Servheen noted.

Are these mortality rates sustainable?

Servheen said given the current population estimate of about 765 animals, it is. It also appears that grizzlies in the NCDE are expanding their range each year. More and more often bears are being farther and farther out from the Rocky Mountain Front. Servheen has predicted in the past that it's a matter of time before grizzlies migrate as far east as the Missouri River.