Grizzly bear captured and moved from vicinity of Nordman, Idaho

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) captured an adult male grizzly bear during the night of September 12, and released the animal in a remote location of the Idaho Panhandle on September 13. The bear had been frequenting a residential area north of Nordman, a small community west of Priest Lake. The grizzly bear had been sighted in the area for several weeks. IDFG Conservation Officers Rob Soumas and Brian Johnson, investigated the sightings and talked with local landowners, and set a culvert trap. While the bear was not aggressive, it appeared to be losing its fear of humans. "That generally does not bode well for people or the bear," said Soumas. "A bear that becomes too familiar with people is eventually going to get into trouble. We made the decision to trap and relocate the bear to a remote area." Brian Johnson set a large culvert trap in the area and the bear was captured Sunday night, September 12. The trap was moved to Bonners Ferry, where biologist Wayne Wakkinen tranquilized and placed a radiocollar on the bear. The bear is an adult male that weighs 330 pounds and is estimated to be 7-8 years old. The bear was held overnight to check its recovery from the tranquilizing drug and to make sure the radiocollar remained on the animal. It was then released Tuesday morning in Grass Creek. The release site is a remote drainage about 25 miles from the capture location, near the border with British Columbia. The release area is excellent bear habitat according to Wakkinen. "Hopefully the bear will find some good huckleberries and remain in the area," said Wakkinen. "If it does return to the Nordman area or any other area around people, we will be able to locate him and take any necessary action." Wakkinen said aversive conditioning will be tried if it comes near humans again. Aversive conditioning is a harassment technique used by agency personnel that attempts to teach the bear that it's presence won't be tolerated near people. The technique involves harassment with rubber slugs and rubber buckshot, and bean bags shot out of a shotgun. Trained bear dogs are also used. "Because we now have the ability to locate the bear, we can plan out actions when and where we want," said Wakkinen. "Our intent is to allow the bear to continue to reside in the Selkirk mountains, but to have a healthy respect and fear of humans." Wakkinen said that if the bear returns to areas near humans and aversive techniques are unsuccessful, other measures may be necessary, including removing or killing the animal. This would only be done in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the animal is protected under the Endangered Species Act.