Grizzly Bear Killed In Encounter Near Dupuyer

GREAT FALLS – Like many Montanans do this time of year, a man was shed hunting in north-central Montana near Dupuyer on Friday. The man was searching for antlers on a brushy hillside when he first saw a bear. As he was leaving the area, the bear charged him at close range. He shot and killed the bear. Fortunately, the man was uninjured.

The bear was an adult female grizzly in good condition with no history of conflict and was estimated to be 13 years old and weighing around 250 pounds.

Be bear aware

Montana is bear country. Grizzly bear populations continue to become denser and more widespread in Montana, increasing the likelihood that residents and recreationists will encounter them in more places each year.

Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts. Here are some precautions to help residents, recreationists and people who work outdoors avoid negative bear encounters:

• Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it immediately.

• Travel in groups whenever possible and make casual noise, which can help alert bears to your presence.

• Stay away from animal carcasses, which often attract bears.

• Follow food storage orders from the applicable land management agency.

• If you encounter a bear, never approach it. Leave the area when it is safe to do so.

• Keep garbage, bird feeders, pet food and other attractants put away in a secure building. Keep garbage in a secure building until the day it is collected. Certified bear-resistant garbage containers are available in many areas.

• Never feed wildlife. Bears that become food conditioned lose their natural foraging behavior and pose threats to human safety. It is illegal to feed bears in Montana.

Though they have reached recovery levels in the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystems, grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Management authority for grizzlies rests with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, working closely in Montana with FWP, the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Services, and Native American tribes. This collaboration happens through the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

For more information and resources on bear safety, visit fwp.mt.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/bear.