Grizzly Bear Killed by Hunter

Posted by Dawn M. Smith Sep 12, 2007

In a classic bad news-good news situation, a hunter killed a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) while hunting for black bear. Until this incident occurred hunters were being told there were no grizzlies in the Selway-Bitterroot ecosystem.

The bad news is that a member of a threatened species has been killed. Some conservationists will use this incident to further their contention that grizzly bears should not have come off the threatened list at all. It will also make it even more important that Montana and Idaho develop reasonable management plans if they ever hope to get the grizzly delisted in their states.

The bear will undergo DNA testing to determine whether it was originally from Cabinet-Yaak or the Northern Continental Divide area, which includes Glacier National Park. In either case, the bear came from the population which is still listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A separate population in the Yellowstone ecosystem has been delisted since April.

The good news is the grizzly bear is moving into Selway-Bitterroot. The US Fish and Wildlife Service had been attempting to determine whether the grizzlies were repopulating the area on their own as expected. This killing confirms that at least one bear has. More are likely to be in the area as well.