Yaak-to-Cabinet migration good news for grizzly recovery

Bear Checkup near Libby - courtesy Montana FWP

A big, mature grizzly migrated from the Yaak Mountains to the Cabinet Range, a major cause for celebration among the bear recovery folks . . .

Finally, there’s some good news out of bear country. Following a spate of bear-human conflicts in Northwest Montana… one recent grizzly encounter has prompted some cause for celebration.

On Oct. 5, a 500-pound male bruin was captured south of Libby after it cleared a non-functioning electric fence that was fortifying a beekeeper’s honey supply.

And while being caught with its paw in the honey jar is classic bad bear behavior, this 6.5-year-old grizzly’s journey to get to the Cabinet Mountains makes him special. It makes him the first documented bear to cross from the Yaak Mountains to the Cabinets in history, which is a boon for bolstering the isolated and relatively scant Cabinet Mountain grizzly population and promoting better genetic diversity there.

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