Bears begin to awaken

The bears aren’t out in numbers yet, but wildlife managers have started encountering tracks and reports of grizzlies roaming around the mountains of Northwest Montana, including Glacier National Park.

“We had one set of tracks observed headed down Camas toward the North Fork, and then there was a pair of tracks, like a sow with a young one, at the head of Lake McDonald,” park wildlife biologist John Waller said Wednesday.

Both were reported in January, but he added that limited bear activity in the middle of winter isn’t too unusual.

“We don’t really have a good feel for how often that occurs. Our radio telemetry equipment is traditionally turned off in the winter to save battery life and we don’t really fly in the winter,” he said. “We know from track observations that some bears do come out.”

Tim Manley, regional grizzly specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, has received reports of grizzly bear tracks near Trego, about 32 miles north of Whitefish, and a grizzly sighting east of Marias Pass.

He also said it’s typical to have a few bear sightings before the spring thaw.

Bears aren’t true hibernators. Their metabolisms slow dramatically when it comes time to den in the fall, but instead of being out cold for the whole season, bears are still prone to occasionally waking up and briefly wandering out of their dens.

Within the next month, they will start leaving en masse, however.

“For grizzly bears up here, I expect the males to start coming out of the den about mid-March,” Manley said. “A couple more weeks and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had several bears that are starting to come out.”

Black bears, which den at lower elevations, typically wake up earlier.

“Most of the grizzly bears we have radio-collared are at about 6,000 feet, so they’re still under a lot of snow,” Manley said. “But we’ll still get these adult males that come out of their dens about the 15th of March.”

Manley is responsible for responding to and trapping grizzly bears causing disturbances around populated areas. Last year, it only took until the first week in April before he was called out to set up a trap on the east side of the valley.

“We ended up capturing two male grizzly bears, but neither was the one we were trying to capture,” he added.

During the early spring months, bears will typically home in on deer, elk and other game animals that died during the winter. But they’re also adept at sniffing out bird seed and other potential foods that people have left out.

“It might be a little earlier this year, but the first of April is a good day for us to remind people to take care of attractants they might have had sitting out in the winter,” Manley said. “Now’s a good time to think about putting electric fence around chickens and things they can’t secure in garages. The ground is starting to thaw enough that people can think about putting in fenceposts.”

Waller added this is a good time for people who traverse the backcountry to start bringing their bear spray, although he recommends it year-round.

In December, a pair of ice climbers in Banff National Park in Canada were attacked by a grizzly when they stumbled across its den, he added.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.