Bewarned: Bears on the prowl

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

Black bears and grizzly bears are on the move and folks are asked to take precautions as fruit trees ripen in yards, attracting the bruins.

On Tuesday night (Sept. 18) a Ford Taurus received significant damage after it hit a 300-pound plus black bear near Martin City on U.S. Highway 2 residents there reported and last week a total of 10 grizzly bears were moved by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists.

"It's the most we've ever handled in one week," FWP spokesman John Fraley said.

In the Lake Blaine area, an adult female grizzly and her two yearling females were targeting apple and plum trees. The bears were trapped and moved together to the Spotted Bear River area in the South Fork of the Flathead drainage. The adult female was fitted with a radio collar so the bear's movements could be followed. FWP Grizzly Bear Management Specialist Tim Manley assisted landowners in erecting electric fences to protect fruit trees. Also, many landowners harvested their fruit.

Fraley said as fruit ripens, folks are reminded to pick it and not let it stay on the ground. Folks are also using electric fencing with multi-strands to keep bears out of fruit trees.

This year many fruit trees saw bumper crops, despite a hot, dry summer.

In the Condon area, FWP managers said nine unoccupied cabins were broken into by a grizzly bear. Traps were set and two black bears and a grizzly was caught, but the grizzly didn't have a DNA match with the culprit.

Also in Condon, three male grizzlies were captured at a local business after the bears had been attracted to restaurant grease.

Because the business is within two miles of the cabins that were broken into, DNA from hair samples from the captured bears was compared to the DNA from the cabin break-ins. The first grizzly DNA did not match and that bear was radio-collared and released in the upper Goat Creek area. The second grizzly was a 2-year old male, too small for the cabin break-in. That bear was radio-collared and released in the North Fork of Lost Creek in the Swan drainage. The third male is still being held awaiting DNA analysis.

Then an adult female with a male and female cub were captured south of Noxon near Pilgrim Creek. These grizzlies were attracted close to residences by plum trees. Those grizzlies were moved back into the mountains near Marten Creek.

In Columbia Falls, a family of black bears has been roaming the neighborhood behind Smith's Grocery, getting into fruit trees there.

Folks are also reminded to secure their garbage and bring in bird feeders until bears hibernate in November. Bears are entering a phase known as hyperphagia, where they consume large amounts of food to build up fat for hibernation.