Police haze bear up Main Street

An errant bear kept Kalispell police occupied for several hours Monday night as officers worked to shoo the lumbering animal out of town.

Officer Ryan Bartholemew was one of three officers — assisted by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper — whose night was hijacked by the black bear.

“We got several reports of a bear walking through the neighborhoods and we found him over on the west side of town on Sixth Street West at Ninth Avenue West,” Bartholemew said. “We tried to push him out of town and initially got him to go toward the Foy’s Lake area.”

He said no sirens or horn honking were necessary to drive the 200- to 250-pound bear ahead of them — all it took was their spotlights, which the bruin didn’t like. According to Bartholemew, the spotlights kept the bear “moseying along.”

Officers initially thought they had been successful and that the hairy situation had been handled, but about an hour later they started getting more calls after the bear returned to town, so they got back to work.

“We eventually pushed him right down Main Street and past Moose’s into the Walgreens parking lot, then continued northbound to Lawrence Park, and that’s where we left him,” Bartholemew said.

While some officers were behind the bear pushing it forward, others traveled ahead to move any pedestrians or bicyclists safely out of the way.

The entire bear-herding process took more than three hours, with the first call coming in shortly after 10 p.m. Monday and the bear reaching Lawrence Park by about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Patrol Capt. Tim Falkner said Tuesday afternoon that the department had not received any more reports of bear sightings.

Black and grizzly bears are in hyperphagia, a metabolic phase that drives them to seek out calories wherever they can find them to prepare for hibernation. That can cause bears to wander far and wide and into areas they typically wouldn’t frequent.

It’s not unprecedented for bears to enter Kalispell at this time of year. They typically wander into town using the cover of riparian areas along the Stillwater River, the Flathead River or Ashley Creek.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials urge residents in potential bear country to secure food attractants, particularly ripe apples or other fruits that are abundant in the fall.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.