August 21, 1998 Ravalli Republic article & pictures about Bear standoff in Hamilton Neighborhood; written and photographed by Ken Dey

Baffled bruin stays in tree.

A large tree, a big bear and what seemed like a good idea equaled a long wait.

Thursday afternoon Hamilton police cornered a big black bear that had been visiting south Hamilton neighborhoods since Monday. The bear had been giving residents thrills and a few chills as he raided back yard apple trees.

Hamilton police officer Chris Hoffman said officers have been chasing the bear since Monday. They managed to herd him back across the river a couple times, but he kept coming back.

Jean and Charlie Israel, who live on South Fifth Street were eating lunch in their backyard Thursday when the bear wandered through within 10 feet of them. The Israels rushed into the house, leaving sandwiches and watermelon for the bear. "Better he ate our lunch than us," Charlie Israel said.

The bear's freewheeling lifestyle came to an end when the police chased the unwelcome guest into a large ponderosa pine in front of 908 S. Third.

Once the. bear was in the tree, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park Wardens Ron Jendro and Doug Johnson arrived to remove the troublesome bruin. The only problem was getting him out of, the tree. The bear was treed at approximately 1 :30 in the afternoon and as of press time he was still in the tree.

Problems arose with the bear's choice of a tree. According to Bill Hadlow, who's the owner of the tree the bear chose to climb, the majestic ponderosa Pine is one of the original trees left in the neighborhood. It was a mature tree before the area was subdivided. In fact Hadlow's home, where the tree stands, is the first home built in the Pine Grove addition.

The tree is probably 400 years old. It towers above the other trees on the block. Officers at the scene were joking that it was probably here when Lewis and Clark visited the valley. And this probably wasn't the first bear to grace its branches.

According to Jendro, the plan was to dart the bear with a tranquilizer and then relocate him to either the Big Hole or the Selway. It sounded simple enough, but the bear wouldn't cooperate.

The bear found a comfortable spot in the tree about 35 feet up. Jendro waited, hoping the bear would climb down lower.

When a bear is high in a tree, there is the danger that he will be hurt if he falls to the ground unconscious. If that happens, the bear would have to be destroyed. There is also a concern that a bear will fall and then take off, putting people in danger.

So Jendro waited, waited and waited. Along with Jendro a crowd of curious onlookers also waited and marveled at the bear.

After three hours it became apparent the bear was settling into a summertime nap, so the plan changed. A call was made to Asplundh Tree Expert Company. The tree company had a large bucket truck. The plan was to put a man in the bucket and raise it above the bear, who would see the bucket, be frightened and climb down the tree to a lower height where Jendro could get a clean shot from the dart gun.

It almost worked. For a minute the bear thought about climbing down, but then he decided up was a better place to be. Suddenly, the bear was about 70 feet up in the tree with no desire to come down.

With the plan down the drain the only option was to sit and wait The wardens felt the bear would likely come down when it started to get dark and the crowds of people wandered away. When the bear gets to a lower position, he will be darted and put in a trap for the long ride to the Big Hole or Selway.

The bear in Hamilton was believed to be approximately 250 pounds. As the afternoon turned into evening Thursday, the wardens and police officers settled in for the waiting game with the very patient bear.

While the Hamilton standoff continues, another bear had settled into a tree near Stevensville. The Stevensville bear was noticed early Thursday morning by Jack Collie. That bear was treed by two dogs and climbed a midsize ponderosa pine just outside the family's porch.

By early afternoon the bear was about 50 feet up the tree, and continuing its upward migration. It was pleased with its perch, but was still occasionally climbing to get farther away from the barking dogs.

Another bear was reported chasing sheep on South Kootenai Road late Thursday afternoon.

The town of Darby has been having problems with at least one bear getting into garbage. A sow and cub have been seen in and near town and the pesky animal(s) overturned gar- garbage cans and scattered garbage at Mr. T's gas station in the middle of town Tuesday night. The bear trap brought to Hamilton Thursday had been doing duty in Darby, trying to apprehend that bear.

According to FWP Warden Johnson, five bears have already been trapped locally and relocated this summer. The most recent was a bear at Charles Waters Campground on Wednesday.

Johnson said the amount of bears coming into the valley is abnormally high because of the hot weather and a poor huckleberry crop in the mountains. He said the valley's ripening cherry and apple trees are attracting the bears and they'll go where the food is.

Bears on a good berry year generally do not come into populated areas. We can expect more of the bears to show up this fall as they search for food on which to fatten for their long winter hibernation. We can thank our lucky stars there apparently are not grizzlies in the SBE. They have a shorter fuse and tend to guard their food sources.

End CAG Comments