October 2, 1999 Missoulian article: Whitefish grizzly returns yet again By Michael Jamison of the Missoulian

WHITEFISH - A grizzly bear with a penchant for rummaging through Whitefish garbage cans was captured Wednesday for the third time in as many weeks, and will be relocated 50 miles north of town near the Canadian border.

The 6-year old female grizzly first was trapped Sept. 17 as it raided neighborhoods surrounding Whitefish Lake. It was taken to the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage, but walked the 20 miles back to Whitefish in a matter of days. On Sept. 21st, it again was captured in the upscale neighborhoods near Whitefish Lake, and was relocated farther up the North Fork in the region of Frozen Lakes.

But the 50 miles that separated it from the Dumpsters was no great obstacle, and soon it was digging though trash on the lakeshore.

Just before midnight Wednesday, bear management specialists Tim Manley and Erik Wenurn darted the grizzly as it lumbered across City, Beach. According to Manley, the bear was not, aggressive and showed a "healthy avoidance of people and vehicles."

"It took us five hours to get close enough to dart the bear," Manley said. "Each time we tried to walk up on her, she'd sense us and leave."

After conferring with federal bear managers, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials opted to give the bear a third chance, again releasing her in the Frozen Lakes area. The grizzly, they said, is approaching reproductive age and is important to the overall grizzly bear population.

Wildlife managers will place a deer carcass near the release site, hoping the easy food source will keep the bear in the area and distract her from wandering back toward Whitefish. Officials will track the bear via radio collar, and are prepared to haze her back into the remote area if she nears homes once again.

The bear, they said is a good candidate for aversive conditioning techniques because she is not aggressive and appears wary of people.

Meanwhile, FWP officials are working with Whitefish residents to secure garbage cans and establish bear proof Dumpsters.

CAG Comments

This  sounds real humane and appropriate  the safety of our  homes.  There is another side to this story.

1. What has been the cost to taxpayers to dissuade a bear from doing what comes naturally; eating?
2. What are the other costs associated with management of this bear; time and a half for anything over 8 hours per day?
3. How much has been spent to date shooting grizzly bears with rubber bullets, sicking bear dogs on them, shouting at them with electronic megaphones, etc. to discourage them from returning to an area?
4. Has a study been done to determine if this produces a grizzly bear that will be even more aggressive towards humans when she has cubs of her own?
5. How much will it cost all citizens in and around Whitefish  to acquire bear proof garbages containers?
6. Secure your garbage by putting them in your garage.   How soon will a bear discover that garage doors are not all that tough?
7. How much will we have invested in this grizzly bear when we finally get around to destroying it as an incorrigible animal?
8. How much will be invested by private citizens of Beaverhead,  Missoula  and Ravalli counties in Montana and  Clark,   Custer, Clearwater,  Fremont, Idaho  Jefferson  and Lemhi,   counties in Idaho to purchase bear proof garbage containers?  
9. And finally is this a ploy on the part of the bureauracy, that has been captured by environmental interest groups that are controlled by eccoterrorists, to further the impossible dream.?
10. WHEN WILL THE BUREAUCRACY STOP EXPLOITING GRIZZLY BEARS?

Doesn't make sense does it.

End CAG Comments

 RETURN