The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, the agency responsible for managing and culling problematic wild animals, shot and killed a grizzly bear near Valier, Mont. on May 31. The bear was killed following a series of attacks on sheep at a local ranch.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) grizzly bear management specialist Mike Madel said that grizzly bear observations and conflicts have “pretty much been nonstop” this year, as the agency has responded to a higher frequency of issues along the Rocky Mountain Front.
This particular grizzly, which was a 6-year-old female bear, killed a number of sheep at the same ranch in July 2015. After the initial depredation incident, the bear was fitted with a radio collar, relocated and tracked for observation. She was known to have spent a significant amount of time near ranches along lowland river bottoms, and eventually made her way back to the sheep farm.
Female grizzly bears are usually given three strikes for these sorts of conflicts. Given that this was her second offense at the same site, FWP, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services agreed to destroy the 352-pound bear by shooting her from a helicopter – an undoubtedly costly method of removal paid for by U.S. taxpayers.
While the cost of removing the bear is unknown, one could safely bet that the figure is in the thousands. Back in late 2012, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spent $77,000 to kill seven wolves using a helicopter and a marksman.
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