Be Bear Aware!

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials had to euthanize a family of four grizzly bears in Polebridge. FWP has received numerous reports of the female adult grizzly and her three yearlings breaking into structures and vehicles.

Officials say the bears grew increasingly comfortable around people, which is behavior that can’t be tolerated due to public safety risk. Yearlings follow the behavior of the mother, and the fact the mother was food conditioned and habituated, she was essentially training her yearlings to have the same behavior, and they were all behaving accordingly which posed a public safety threat and the decision was made to dispatch them.

Bears are especially active this time of the year as they are preparing for winter hibernation by fattening themselves up as much as possible. Wildlife officials warned last week that grizzly populations are more dense this year compared to previous years and hunters should be prepared for bear encounters in the backcountry.