18 grizzlies die in human encounters in Montana

According to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, 18 grizzly bears died this year in north-central Montana as a result of encounters with humans in north-central Montana.

Officials at the committee’s meeting in Missoula last week reported that none of the bears were killed by state or federal wildlife managers because the bears became troublesome. The bears died in encounters with hunters, landowners, cars or other situations, officials said.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee is the group that oversees the recovery of the threatened species. It includes representatives from the Montana, Idaho and Wyoming governments and the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service.

The committee’s statistics cover the 9,600-square-mile Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in Montana, one of six grizzly bear recovery zones in Idaho, Montana, Washington, Wyoming and British Columbia.

The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates 1,400 to 1,700 wild grizzly bears remain in the western U.S.

Between 2000 and 2010, wildlife managers killed nearly 70 grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem because the bears’ behavior had become a problem, the interagency committee said. The reason for this year’s decline in deaths by wardens is being studied.

Biologists at the meeting reported 2014 was a good year in Montana for the grizzlies’ natural food sources, including huckleberries and chokecherries, but problems continue with bears eating cultivated crops and chickens.

“They’re getting into radishes, alfalfa — it’s just ramping up,” said Jamie Jonkel, a biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.