Grizzly Captured Near Moran

After coordination with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department captured and relocated a subadult male grizzly bear this weekend.

The grizzly bear has been captured near the entrance to Grand Teton National Park in Moran and relocated. The capture was initiated by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department after the animal began to become habituated to passing traffic and wildlife watchers which created safety concerns.

Game wardens say they used substantial efforts to prevent people from practicing what they called “negligent human behavior and unethical wildlife viewing practices” but were unable to stop onlookers. 

Working in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, officials moved the bear to the Fall River drainage about 28 miles northwest of Moran.

Busy Season for Grizzly Management

Just two weeks ago another bear in the region was relocated by authorities after it was caught killing cattle near Yellowstone Park.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department made the decision to capture and relocate an adult male grizzly bear on Aug. 15.

The bear had been eating livestock northwest of Thermopolis on private land. The bear was relocated to the Five Mile Creek drainage approximately 41 miles west of Cody in the Shoshone National Forest.

Some Grizzlies are Killed

Earlier in August, another grizzly bear was euthanized after feeding on cattle on private land in the Tom Miner Basin just north of Yellowstone National Park.

The bear – a 20-year-old male – was had been captured and relocated previously due to cattle depredation. Officials said that it also had significant tooth decay and that grizzlies in this condition sometimes prey on cattle as an easier food source.

A number of bears have been relocated or killed in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho this year.including one female grizzly that was killed after breaking into garbage cans and vehicles Big Sky.

Management authority for grizzlies is up to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They work closely with state wildlife agencies, the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Services and Native American tribes. The agencies make up the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.

Grizzly bears are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 states.