Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) announced on Thursday, July 18, 2024, that staff had to shoot and kill a food-conditioned grizzly bear that had been breaking into homes in and around Gardiner.
According to a news release, FWP received a report early Thursday morning that a bear had broken into a home in Maiden Basin, north of Gardiner.
“FWP staff responded and dispatched the bear while it was in the Yellowstone River,” the release states.
FWP recovered the bear’s carcass that afternoon and confirmed it was the same bear involved in several recent conflicts.
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FWP said reports of conflicts with the grizzly bear began in early June and increased over the past three weeks. The bear was attracted to unsecured attractants at residences, businesses, and vehicles, which included garbage, human food, barbecue grills, and pet food.
The release from FWP continued as follows:
“The bear also broke into several occupied residences to retrieve food, including homes in Gardiner and Maiden Basin, as well as a National Park Service employee house in Mammoth. Several property owners attempted to haze the bear, but it returned to Gardiner and surrounding areas almost nightly to obtain food.”
No human injuries were reported.
FWP staff and Bear Aware Gardiner offered extensive educational outreach, working with property owners to secure or upgrade garbage cans or install electric fencing.
With human safety as a top priority, and in consultation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, FWP bear specialists began nightly efforts to trap and remove the bear. However, the availability of unsecured attractants and the bear’s nocturnal activity limited opportunities for safe removal without additional risks to humans.
These events and management efforts increased bear awareness in the community, resulted in elevated patrols, and led to the safe removal of the habituated bear shortly after it broke into an occupied home.
Bear specialists had collected genetic samples from the bear at various conflict locations. The samples matched a genetic profile for a known adult male grizzly bear captured previously for research and given a numbered ear tag. The bear killed on Thursday had the same ear tag and was confirmed to be involved in recent conflicts.
FWP thanked staff from the U.S. Forest Service, Yellowstone National Park, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team for their assistance. FWP also expressed gratitude to Gardiner residents who offered help.
Residents are reminded to secure attractants to avoid conflicts with wildlife.
FWP reminds the public that Montana is bear country, with grizzly populations becoming denser and more widespread.
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Residents, businesses, and visitors are urged to securely store food, garbage, and other attractants indoors or in certified bear-resistant containers. Feeding wildlife, including bears, is illegal in Montana and can result in fines and penalties.
Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are still listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
