Grizzly bear euthanized near KM Ranch Road

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel captured a subadult male grizzly bear along the Stillwater River, southwest of Whitefish near the KM Ranch Road on Sept. 5. The bear had been moved in July from the Blackfoot River area near Lincoln to the Coal Creek drainage in the North Fork.

Over the next month, the bear crossed the Whitefish Divide and traveled along the Stillwater River between Lupfer Meadows and Lost Creek. The 238-pound male grizzly was getting into livestock feed, pet food, garbage, bird feeders and apples on KM Ranch Road.

“One day we got six calls on him,” FWP grizzly bear management specialist Tim Manley said. “He was visiting everybody in that area, and he was avoiding culvert traps. At one point, we had four or five traps set for him.”

The bear was finally captured with a leg snare on Sept. 5. Due to its history and food-conditioned behavior, the decision was made to remove the bear. It was taken to a local veterinary clinic and euthanized.

To reduce grizzly conflicts, Manley reminds residents to secure all food attractants, including livestock and pet feed, bird feeders and especially fruit falling from trees.