Three grizzlies, two black bears dead

There has been a recent rash of bear deaths, most notably three young grizzly bears shot in the Ferndale area.

Zena Pirone had grown fond of watching a mother grizzly bear and her cubs periodically wander through her property in Ferndale. So when she learned the cubs had been shot and killed, she was upset.

“I just want to cry, it’s just horrible,” she said.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly bear management specialist Tim Manley said the family of bears had been coming into the area for a while, eating chickens and getting into garbage cans, bird seed and dog food that weren’t properly stored.

Manley had six traps set in the Ferndale area to catch the family when the bears were shot.

“We were dealing with those bears for basically about a month,” Manley said.

Before the three cubs were shot about two weeks ago, the mother grizzly had separated from them so she could go mate, Manley said. Newly independent, the cubs returned to Ferndale where they were killed.

Their deaths are under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will not release any details about the investigation.

Separately, Glacier National Park rangers on Tuesday put down a black bear in the Many Glacier area after the bear exhibited food-conditioned behavior. 

The bear was captured after it entered a park residence near the Many Glacier entrance. The bear broke several windows and a screen door and managed to enter the residence by breaking through the back door.

The bear then rummaged through garbage while inside. No one was injured.

Rangers also reported witnessing several instances of the bear foraging for food near Many Glacier Road and touching visitors’ vehicles. The bear was determined to be food-conditioned and a potential threat to human safety.

Another young black bear was euthanized by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks near Lake Mary Ronan on June 10 because the bear had been approaching people in campgrounds during the day. Camp foods and garbage had been left available for the bear, and as it continued to forage the bear became even more determined to get food, even in occupied campsites.

The behavior was deemed a significant threat to human safety.

Lake Mary Ronan is in the heart of bear country and people are urged to lock up all attractants and foods while away from camp as well as to report bear sightings and conflicts in order to prevent similar bear  problems in the future.