Idaho Fish and Game recently trapped and released a sub-adult grizzly bear that was spotted several times in North Idaho. F&G conservation officers hauled a trap to a location near where the bear was spotted digging up and eating a goat that had been buried on private property near Chilco.
Officers caught the bear in a culvert trap baited with a portion of the goat. The bear was then transported to McArthur Lake WMA where it was fitted with a transmitter collar. Biologists also took DNA samples, then transported the bear to a remote area of the Cabinet Mountains near the Montana border.
After release, the bear had moved down toward the eastern end of the Kootenai Valley, and biologists are monitoring it and preparing to trap it if it appears likely it will get back into trouble.
Fish and Game officials became of aware of the bear on Aug. 11, after a citizen reported it chasing sheep near Garwood. It was also photographed raiding a chicken coop about five mile north of where it was earlier reported, and officials assumed it was the same bear. Other citizens later reported a bear getting into their chicken coops.
Because grizzly bears in North Idaho are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, there are specific guidelines to follow when a bear is captured and released.
Photo provided by Dylan May