Idaho Fish & Game says it thought grizzly was a black bear

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said its staff misidentified a grizzly bear as a black bear two days before a hunter killed it.

"Fish and Game regrets the mistake made by its staff, the undue stress the situation caused for the hunter and the loss of the grizzly bear. Fish and Game is reviewing its staff’s part in the incident as a personnel matter," a press release said.

The male grizzly bear was shot and killed June 10 near the Lower St. Joe River about 5 miles from the town of St. Maries, "an area not commonly used by grizzly bears," the release said.

Fish and Game issued a press release on the incident June 14. It stated the hunter "shot and killed a subadult male grizzly bear he mistook for a black bear."

"After identifying the bear at the scene as a grizzly, the hunter contacted Idaho Fish and Game and has cooperated with the investigation," the release said.

The hunter was given a warning, Fish and Game said. The shooting took place at a bait site.

On Tuesday, a Fish and Game press release said that two days prior to the incident, the hunter recorded video of the bear at the bait site and sent it to Fish and Game for review. 

"The hunter expressed concern that the bear was a grizzly and not a black bear," the release said. "Unfortunately, Fish and Game staff misidentified the young bear as a black bear because it lacked some common features of a grizzly and shared that misidentification with the hunter."

TJ Ross, Fish and Game spokesperson for the Panhandle Region, said the information about the hunter sending a video to Fish and Game before the shooting wasn't included in the initial release because they were still verifying what happened.

Fish and Game posted two videos of the bear in question. The first, 46 seconds, shows what looks like a black bear wandering around. Then, a smallish brown bear enters the area and runs toward the black bear, which retreats. 

In the second video, 24 seconds, the brown bear walks around.

Ross said Fish and Game wanted to release some information while knowing it would follow up later.

"We want to be sure we have all the facts straight," Ross said.

He said the hunter did take steps to correctly identify the bear by sending the video to Fish and Game, which Ross said made a mistake in saying it was a black bear.

"We're taking ownership in our part of that," Ross said.

But, he said ultimately, the responsibility of identifying a target before pulling the trigger rests with the hunter.

"We're not there in person staring at the bear," Ross said. 

Environmental groups decried the practice of hunting bears over bait and a recent decision by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that related to that type of hunting.

"Now we are faced with this untenable situation - where baiting for black bears is allowed in grizzly habitat by the state of Idaho and sanctioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the federal courts, with there being no way to hold anyone accountable for this killing of an endangered grizzly as a result," said Jeff Juel of Friends of the Clearwater in a press release. "The State of Idaho says the grizzly bear should be removed from the federal Endangered Species list because they can manage the species, but this incident proves they’re entirely unqualified.”

The groups, which included, WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project, Wilderness Watch and Friends of the Clearwater, lost their appeal at the Ninth Circuit court this week, cementing a lower court decision that concluded that bear-baiting in Idaho and Wyoming national forests doesn’t harm federally-protected grizzly bears. 

According to Fish and Game, most of Idaho’s grizzly bear populations are in the northern Panhandle area and the area in and around Yellowstone National Park in eastern Idaho. 

"But young male grizzlies may wander long distances and into areas where people don’t expect to encounter them. These young male bears typically wander through an area, but do not remain there," the release said.

Grizzly bears are protected under state and federal law, "and bear hunters are responsible for proper identification of their target," the release said. "All hunters are encouraged to review their bear identification skills to avoid mistaken identity."

Size and color of the animal are not reliable indicators of species; black bears can be brown, and grizzly bears can be black. It’s best to look at multiple features to make the right call. Grizzly bears typically have short, rounded ears, a dished facial profile, a prominent shoulder hump and 2- to 4-inch-long claws.