October 10, 1998 Missoulian article: 3 strike rule doesn't apply to Bonnie the grizzly.


Great Falls - Bonnie the grizzly is an exception to the three strikes rule.

Despite having twice before been captured and moved, state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials relocated her away from Choteau again because she has two female cubs with her.

"The cubs would have died," said Make Madel, a grizzly bear management specialist with the FWP, and female mortality in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem has been high this year.

The bears were captured relocated in the north fork of Dupuyer Creek.

Bonnie is one of the most famous bears in the region and one of the largest at 400 pounds, Madel said.

The 19-year-old grizzly has a reputation for causing trouble, including causing considerable damage to a rancher's beehives.


CAG Comment

Bonnie is teaching her cubs to come into areas habitated by humans and lunching on items that interest them.

Good thinking Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks!

End CAG Comment


She also gets around. In 1989, after killing some sheep, Bonnie was moved to Frozen Lake near the border with British Columbia.

Six months later, she was back on the Rocky Mountain Front. With yearlings, she had traveled through Glacier National Park and the Scape Goat and Bob Marshall wildernesses to get back to her home territory. Associated Press


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