On Monday, July 25, 2022 Fish and Game’s Magic Valley Region received a report of a black bear incident in a residential area in East Fork, south of Ketchum. Conservation officers who investigated the report found that on Friday, July 22, a woman was walking her Great Pyrenees near her home when she and the dog encountered a black bear at close proximity on the trail. It was estimated to be 120 pounds by the woman, who noted the bear was approximately the same size as her dog.
Once encountered, the woman began to walk backwards while talking to the bear. Her dog, who was off trail came back and the bear engaged with the dog. The bear and dog scuffled. The dog suffered multiple bite puncture wounds and was treated by a local veterinarian. It is currently recovering from its wounds at home. The bear left the area and it is unknown if it suffered any injuries.
Officers could not determine the age or gender of the bear. They also report that this incident does not appear to be the result of unsecured garbage in the neighborhoods, but rather a bear living in its natural habitat in close proximity to rural residential development.
No efforts to trap the bear will be taken by Fish and Game.
Other residents in the East Fork neighborhood reported seeing a bear and cubs in the area.
Residents are encouraged to be vigilant while outdoors to avoid any surprise encounters with bears.
“When a bear or any wildlife has direct contact with an unleashed pet in wildlands we tend to not take management actions against wildlife” according to Mike McDonald, Regional Wildlife Manager, “in many situations, wildlife and pets, especially dogs, don’t mix, and can actually make an encounter rise to an attack or fight between the two. We don’t want that to happen. Dog owners should be aware that they are responsible for their pets and their actions when recreating on public land.”
While pet owners can be confident that they have voice control of their pets, often, when wildlife is encountered voice control can be lost as their pets follow their natural instincts to pursue other animals.
Human-wildlife conflicts with black bears have been occurring in the Wood River Valley since May. Most of the conflicts have been directly associated with bears becoming food-conditioned from eating food in unsecured residential garbage carts or food left unattended in campgrounds.
This summer, to protect public safety, Fish and Game has attempted to trap two bears, one in the North Fork area of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area that was raiding campsites, and the other in west Ketchum after an aggressive black bear charged a homeowner on two occasions during an attempt to scare a garbage habituated bear out of her yard. No bears were trapped in these two situations.
In the early morning hours of July 18, 2022, what is thought to be the same bear from the incident the week before in Ketchum became aggressive when a homeowner tried to get the bear out of a nearby garbage cart. The sow died during capture efforts. Two young-of-the-year cubs were taken to Snowden Wildlife Sanctuary in McCall for rehabilitation and hopeful release back into the wild at a later date.
Residents are encouraged to notify Magic Valley Region Fish and Game biologists if they encounter a bear in or near town at (208) 324-4359, or your nearest Fish and Game office, or if after-hours or on weekends, reports can be made to your local sheriff office.