Grizzly kills woman near West Yellowstone; another bear euthanized in GNP

Two Montana grizzly bears were in the news during the last week as one killed a hiker and another bruin was euthanized after it charged a family.

The fatal mauling occurred on July 22 on the Buttermilk Creek trail about eight miles west of West Yellowstone in Gallatin County.

According to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, the woman was identified as 48-year-old Amie Adamson of Derby, Kansas. At the time of her death, Adamson was hiking or running on the trail, which she often did in the early-morning hours.

Officials said the bear attack did not appear to be predatory. Her cause of death was determined to be exsanguination due to a bear mauling. The manner is accidental.

FWP wardens and bear specialists, along with staff from other agencies, found tracks from an adult grizzly bear and at least one cub near the site. They did not see any bears or signs of a day bed or animal carcass during the investigation.

Officials began conducting capture operations due to the incident’s proximity to residences, campgrounds and a high-use OHV trail system, but no bears have been captured to date. FWP staff also searched the area from an aircraft and did not locate any bears.

Morgan Jacobson, media contact for FWP Region 3, told the Great Falls Tribune that wildlife officials have neither seen an aggressive bear nor captured a bear in the Buttermilk Trail System closure area and efforts to trap the grizzly that killed Adamson will be discontinued.

Adamson was believed to be alone during the encounter and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene. The incident is still under joint investigation by FWP and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The other encounter that resulted in the euthanization of a 5-year-old, radio-collared female grizzly on July 20 on the east side of Glacier National Park.

The aggressive and food-conditioned bear was killed near Lake Sherburne after it was suspected of charging at a picnicking family near Swiftcurrent Lake Boat Launch, officials said in a press release.

It is the first time since 2009 officials have euthanized a food-condition bear inside the national park.

On Tuesday, June 27, the grizzly was reported moving through the Many Glacier Campground where it obtained unsecured human food from a campsite picnic table. Because the bear received a food reward, and in accordance with Glacier National Park’s Bear Management Plan, park staff restricted the Many Glacier Campground to hard-sided camping only. Staff hazed the grizzly out of the campground on two later occasions. The campground reopened to all camper types on Monday, July 10 after radio tracking showed the bear was no longer in the immediate area for several days.

But on Tuesday, July 18, the bear appeared at the Swiftcurrent Lake Boat Launch where it aggressively charged a family picnicking on the shoreline. The family was able to secure food items; however, the bear successfully obtained beverages that were left cooling in the lake. The incident was immediately reported to park staff.

In the most recent incidents, there are currently a number of habituated and food-conditioned bears in the Red Lodge area.

A yearling black bear has gotten into two vehicles, entered a home and two garages, stolen a backpack and approached people. This is unnatural bear behavior and is the direct result of this bear finding human or pet food items and quickly becoming dependent upon them. FWP wildlife staff are working to trap and euthanize this bear, given its likely irreversible food-conditioned behavior is a threat to human safety in the community.

This year Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has confirmed grizzly bear sightings in several places where grizzlies haven’t been seen in recent years and in some cases more than a century.

Grizzly bear numbers and range continue to expand, particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and the Great Yellowstone ecosystems.

Over the last couple of months, FWP staff confirmed grizzly sightings in the North Hills and Grizzly Gulch areas near Helena, the Elkhorn Mountains near Clancy, near Ulm, in the Pryor Mountains southeast of Billings, the Shields Valley, Little Belt Mountains, near the Judith River east of Denton and on the lower Dearborn River.

“Vigilance is important for those who live and recreate in the outdoors,” said Quentin Kujala, chief of conservation policy for FWP. “This is a busy time of year for bears and our field staff are responding to calls in these particular areas and across the state.”

As the grizzly bear population continues to expand across Montana, residents can take the following steps to help protect their property and be safe while recreating.

How to avoid attracting bears to your property

• Store garbage in an IGBC-certified bear resistant bin or other similarly resistant building or container at all times until the day of disposal;
• Avoid leaving food or smell attractants next to windows, doors or outside walls;
• Do not leave out pet food, bird feeders and bird seed or BBQ’s;
• Bears are attracted to fruit-bearing trees and bushes, gardens and compost piles. Electric fencing can be effective at deterring bears as well as routinely picking fallen and ripe fruit;
• Secure vulnerable livestock (chickens, goats, sheep) with an electric fence whenever possible.

Tips for recreating in bear country

• Carry bear spray close at hand and know how to use it;
• Travel in groups whenever possible and plan to be back to your vehicle in the daylight hours;
• Avoid carcass sites and concentrations of ravens and other scavengers;
• Watch for signs of bears such as bear scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned over rocks and partly consumed animal carcasses;
• Make noise, especially near streams or in thick forest where hearing and visibility is limited. This can be the key to avoiding encounters. Most bears will avoid humans when they know humans are present;
• Don't approach a bear.