After consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) relocated a 5-year-old female grizzly bear on Aug. 21, 2024.
Wildlife Services began trapping southeast of Henry’s Lake in an area that has experienced several confirmed cattle depredations due to grizzly bears over the past several weeks. A 257-pound female grizzly was captured on the night of Aug. 20 while visiting the site. Given the presence of other bears at the kill site, and having no prior history of cattle depredation, the decision was made to relocate this bear.
In cooperation with the USFWS and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, the sow grizzly was immobilized, given a body condition and health assessment, fitted with a radio collar and relocated to a remote area in the Fish Creek drainage on Forest Service land approximately 12 miles from the City of Island Park.
While not always possible, relocation is a management tool that wildlife biologists use to minimize conflicts between humans and grizzly bears. Relocation sites are chosen after considering the age, sex and type of conflict the bear was involved in, as well as the proximity to nearby human activity. Because of the inability to move bears across state lines and the limited size of Idaho’s grizzly bear recovery zone within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, few suitable relocation sites exist.
Grizzly bears are federally protected and relocated in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations. IDFG is required to update the public whenever a grizzly bear is relocated and will continue to monitor this bear’s movements and activities. Before any relocation occurs, IDFG consults with the appropriate agencies to minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the relocated grizzly bear’s chance of survival.