From a Tuesday, October 3, 2005 posting to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks web site . . .
On Sunday afternoon (October 2) a female grizzly bear was released in the Cabinet Mountains near Spar Lake as part of the program to augment the grizzly population in the Cabinets. The bear was a 7-year-old female captured in Spruce Creek of the North Fork of the Flathead River by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks personnel. This animal has no history of conflicts with humans and was trapped in a backcountry area. The bear was in very good condition and weighed approximately 250 pounds. She is wearing a radio collar and will be monitored at least twice weekly with flights. According to FWP Wildlife Manager Jim Williams, this program is expected to continue in the coming years depending upon the availability of bears for transplant.
This is the first bear transplanted to the Cabinet Mountains since 1990-94, when 4 bears were released during an experimental program designed to test grizzly bear population augmentation techniques. All bears came from the North Fork of the Flathead River in British Columbia and had no history of conflict. Hair snagging techniques and DNA analysis confirmed the presence of at least one of the transplanted bears remaining in the Cabinet Mountains during 2004. The bear identified was transplanted in 1993 as a 2-year-old.