Chicken-killing griz captured, killed north of Kalispell

Wildlife officials killed two male bears in recent days, including a grizzly north of Kalispell and a black bear in Glacier National Park, after concluding the bears had become conditioned to human food and posed a risk to human safety.

The grizzly, estimated to be 3 years old, was captured and killed Thursday on private property off Lost Creek Drive west of Farm to Market Road. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks reported the 195-pound grizzly “had repeatedly broken into chicken coops and killed numerous chickens over several days.”

The bear also had broken into unsecured garbage and bird feeders throughout the surrounding residential area, Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a news release.

On Monday, Glacier National Park rangers killed a black bear in the vicinity of Lake McDonald Lodge after discovering it had broken into an unoccupied concession employee’s cabin.

On Friday, a black bear had been reported in the Lake McDonald Lodge horse corral eating unsecured horse feed. That same night and the following morning, the bear returned, exhibiting little fear of humans or horses, the park said.

On Sunday, a private landowner in the immediate area reported a black bear had pushed in porch screens and caused other property damage at a local residence. Another nearby resident reported a black bear looking into their cabin windows.

For more than a week, rangers spent hours in the Lake McDonald Lodge area locating the bear and using extensive aversive conditioning techniques to encourage the bear to seek out wild areas and natural food sources again, the park said. They made contact with the bear multiple times, according to a news release from Glacier National Park.

The park said the male bear was euthanized, consistent with Glacier National Park’s Bear Management Plan, in consultation with park wildlife biologists. The bear was estimated to be around 9 years old and about 150 pounds. A field necropsy revealed it to be in otherwise healthy condition.

Food-conditioned bears are those that have sought and obtained non-natural foods, destroyed property or displayed aggressive, non-defensive behavior towards humans and are removed from the wild. Such bears are not relocated due to human safety concerns, the park said.

Meanwhile, Dillon Tabish, a spokesman for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the grizzly bear killed Thursday had no past history of conflicts.

So far this year, there have been 11 grizzly bear mortalities in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, Tabish said. The term “mortality” does not necessarily mean a bear is dead; it might have been relocated or transferred to a zoo and thus lost to the population of grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.

The grizzly bear killed Thursday was the first grizzly euthanized this year in Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Region One, Tabish said.

The department said it is monitoring increased bear activity across northwest Montana, including the Ferndale and Whitefish areas, and personnel are actively working to reduce conflicts in collaboration with landowners.

Residents are encouraged to report possible bear activity as soon as possible, the department said.

To report grizzly bear activity in the greater Flathead Valley, call Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife management specialists at 406-250-1265. To report black bear and mountain lion activity in the greater Flathead Valley, call 406-250-0062. To report bear activity in the Cabinet-Yaak area, call 406-291-1320.