Grizzlies appear around county

RONAN — Grizzly bears have started to make their annual debut around northwestern Montana.

As the weather heats up, the grizzlies have started to wander around, looking for food.

One bear that was hit by a car on May 5 about five miles south of Ronan on U.S. Hwy 93 was eliminated, according to a press release on June 10.

“It was a hit and run,” Germaine White, CSKT Information and Education Specialist, said. “The bear was struck and killed. We found out about it and eliminated it.”

According to the press release, the one-year-old male bear was found along the road by a passing motorist, who reported the discovery. The person who hit the bear did not report the accident, and no witnesses have come forward, so details of the accident are unknown.

This isn’t an isolated incident.

“It’s that time of year when wildlife is very active, looking for food along the wetlands,” White said.

Dale Becker, Tribal Wildlife Program Manager, noted that four grizzly bears have been struck and killed by motorists in that section of roadway. The grizzly bears were killed in 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2010. Two were killed south of Post Creek and two were killed north of Ninepipe Reservoir. This is the first grizzly bear fatality reported on the Flathead Indian Reservation this year.

While reconstruction of other segments of U.S. Highway 93 on the Flathead Indian Reservation have included provisions to facilitate safe wildlife passage across the highway, that specific segment in which the grizzly bears were killed has not been reconstructed with animal crossings. 

“It is undetermined when that segment of highway will be reconstructed and when wildlife crossings will be constructed there,” Becker said. “Our bear specialists will provide significant input to the design of the Ninepipe segment of Highway 93 to ensure safe passage for bears. Until then, we urge drivers to use extreme care while driving in riparian and wetland areas.”

The danger provokes White to remind drivers to proceed with care.

“Give wildlife a break,” she said. “It’s a tough time for bears to make a living.”

Another way to keep the bears out of harm’s way is to keep all garbage and pet food stored inside as well as keeping animals locked up. White said officials have seen more bears east of Ronan as they are attracted to such things.

“It’s bad people behavior resulting in bears that become conditioned to people food and we have to eliminate them,” White said. “A fed bear is a dead bear. Every spring we have these problems. It would help if we just eliminated the attractions.”