North Fork area on alert for aggressive grizzly

A grizzly bear with a taste for dogs has the North Fork community on alert, though the bruin may have died after a landowner reportedly shot and wounded it.

The problems started on Oct. 1, when a grizzly bear, apparently chasing a dog, encountered and mauled a woman at the “bubble-ups” near Trail Creek Road. Her husband drove it off with bear spray.

The 73-year-old, an area resident, survived the incident and has since been released from the hospital.

The next day, a dog went missing from a residence a few miles away from the Trail Creek incident, according to the North Fork Landowners Association. A neighbor’s photo showed the same bear in the yard. The dog never returned. North Forkers did an extensive search, but the dog was never found.

Then on Oct. 8, there was another incident when a dog was attacked and killed at a cabin on Trail Creek Road. The owner shot at and injured the bear, which eventually retreated into the woods, the Association said on its website.

Last week, North Fork residents met with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' wildlife management specialist Erik Wenum of the Wildlife-Human Attack Response Team and Justine Vallieres, Region 1 bear manager.

Through DNA analysis, officials with the wildlife agency determined that the same bear, a male at least 9 years old, was involved in all three incidents. The DNA data used for the match came from a hair sample obtained in Canada.

Both Vallieres and Wenum pointed out that a grizzly bear deliberately attacking a dog is extremely unusual behavior. There have been a couple of incidents over the past few decades where a dog was killed accidentally because it was tethered between a grizzly and a food source, but neither had ever heard of an unprovoked attack.

Despite two weeks of trying to trap the problem bear and an array of wildlife cameras being set out, the dog-killing grizzly has not been sighted. The traps have since been pulled and the area where the woman was attacked reopened.

Grizzly incidents up the North Fork are not uncommon.

About a month before the bear and dog incidents, a man killed himself in the area near Tepee Lake. A bear discovered and consumed the better part of his remains. DNA analysis showed that this was not the same bear as the culprit in the Trail Creek incidents. It was a female grizzly that just happened to come across a food source. It is not a problem bear, officials said.

IF Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks does happen to catch the offending dog-eating bear, it will likely be put down. The bear could very well be dead, since it was shot.

FWP is urging North Forkers to take precautions, such as keeping dog and pet feed inside, securing all other attractants and even shaking cans of bear spray once in awhile.

Wenum noted the ingredients can separate out if the spray lays too long in one position. He likened it to storing unhomogenized peanut butter where the oil eventually rises to the top. He suggested at least shaking up your bear spray before you go someplace with it. Also folks should pay attention to the expiration date.

With hunting season in full swing, hikers should be alert to any bear activity as well as warning signs.

Mobs of bird like ravens and magpies can mean a carcass or gut pile is in the area and should be avoided.

Also, the smell of a dead animal in an area should also mean using caution when in the woods.

People who aren’t hunting should make noise occasionally while hiking or recreating as well.