Besides the flood threat, heavy snowpack in the mountains means that bears emerging from hibernation are foraging further down-valley for food. Bear managers have had a busy time of it dealing with nuisance bears. The Daily Inter Lake surveys the situation . . .
With too much snow at higher elevations and an abundance of food attractions in the valleys, grizzly bears and black bears have been stirring up trouble lately.
The Flathead Beacon has a nice overview of all the late-season bear activity — not to mention a handy one-sentence definition of “hyperphagia” . . .
As the weather begins to cool for fall’s arrival, Flathead Valley residents may notice a heightened amount of bear activity in the lower basins as the animals continue packing away calories before hibernation.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens have captured five “problem” bears in seven days throughout Flathead County. Three of them, a good-sized sow and two cubs, were relocated to the North Fork, another had to be put down and one was dropped off east of the Swan Range. This year’s poor berry crop has sent an unusually large number of bears down-valley into settled areas as they try to fatten up prior to hibernation.
The Daily Inter Lake has a good write-up on the situation; the Missoulian also has coverage. The Flathead Beacon has the actual FWP report, along with a pretty cool photo.
It must be spring. Montana FWP is back in the bear eviction business again. According to an article in today’s Daily Inter Lake, they had to relocate a sow and her cub a few days ago that were getting into garbage in the Swan Range foothills. Tim Manley, a grizzly bear management specialist, reports that half the radio-collared bears he monitors are already up and about, looking for food. So, this would be good time to make sure there aren’t any bear attractants — garbage, dog food, bird seed, etc. — around the property.
Read the entire article . . .