Grizzly killed by train near West Glacier

A 2-year-old male grizzly captured near Bigfork in May and subsequently relocated to the east side of Hungry Horse Reservoir died after being hit by a train Monday near West Glacier.

The bear had been fitted with a radio collar after its capture in May. At the time, the animal had been hanging around houses near Bigfork and did not respond to residents’ attempts to drive it away, said Dillon Tabish, a spokesman for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

This week, the radio collar led the state agency to the bear’s carcass near Nyack Flats. It was determined the animal had collided with the train Monday evening. Fish, Wildlife and Parks notified BNSF Railway Co. and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the grizzly’s demise.

So far this year, 33 grizzly bear “mortalities” have been identified in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, a landscape that is home to more than 1,000 grizzly bears, officials say.

As defined, a mortality can include bears that are killed as well as grizzlies captured and transported to an accredited zoo or research facility.

The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem spans Glacier National Park and includes portion of the Flathead and Blackfeet Indian reservations, parts of five national forests and a significant amount of state and private lands.

Bears are actively seeking food sources before the winter denning season and state officials urged residents to take measures to secure anything that might tempt a bear.