Two bears struck, killed by vehicles

FLATHEAD RESERVATION — A black bear was struck and killed in a collision with a vehicle in the late afternoon on Sunday, May 20 on Hwy. 35.

Around 3 p.m., an adult, male black bear, weighing roughly 200 pounds, was struck about one-quarter mile from Ricciardi’s at around mile marker 5.5. Tribal game wardens were dispatched onto the scene and removed the bear from the area.

The bear fatality marked the second time in about two weeks that a bear was killed in the area. On Saturday, May 5 around 10:30 p.m., an adult male grizzly bear was killed on Hwy. 93 at mile marker 35 north of St. Ignatius. That bear weighed nearly 600 pounds.

May 5 marked the third consecutive year that a grizzly bear was killed in a vehicle collision and with the recent collisions, drivers should be on extra alert for bears in the area.

Drivers who accidentally strike a grizzly bear are asked to report the incident to Stacy Courville, Tribal Wildlife Management Program at 883-2888.