GREAT FALLS – Bear biologists with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks recently captured two adult male grizzly bears in northwest Montana.
The bears were captured as biologists were searching for a female grizzly bear to move to the Cabinet Mountains as part of the Augmentation Program to maintain the grizzly population in that region.
The two bears that were captured were found to be males, so they were safely released on-site without being drugged or handled.
With bow hunting and upland game bird seasons opening September 1, FWP said in a press release that slow-moving, quiet or game-calling, scented and camouflaged hunters will soon be sharing the landscape with the state’s even stealthier bears that may be stalking similar prey.
Grizzly bears are found throughout the western half of Montana, not just the Rocky Mountain Front, Bob Marshall Wilderness complex, and the Yellowstone ecosystem.
FWP advises that hunters:
carry bear spray, be prepared and know how to use it
hunt with a partner and let someone else know your plans
get harvested big game out of the woods quickly
upon returning to a site where harvested game is left unattended, study the site at a distance for any movement or changes and signal your approach by making plenty of noise
never attempt to frighten or haze a bear from a carcass — – contact FWP if a bear has consumed a carcass or covered it with debris rendering it unsalvageable.
FWP notes that grizzly bear attacks are rare and usually happen due to surprise encounters, where the bear is startled, then charges out of fear.
