Grizzly relocated from Upper Green
by Wyoming Game and Fish Department
August 13, 2007
On Aug. 7, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department captured and relocated a 15-year-old male grizzly bear from a grazing allotment in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in the upper Fish Creek drainage south of Union Pass.
The bear had killed a yearling steer and may have been involved in several other cattle losses in the area. The animal was released adjacent to the Washakie Wilderness in upper Sunlight Creek on the Shoshone National Forest northwest of Cody, an area not used for livestock grazing.
Relocating bears is a tool used by wildlife managers to prevent conflicts between bears and people or their property. The decision to relocate and the selection of a relocation site is made in close consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service to minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the survival potential of the relocated grizzlies. Bears are relocated in accordance with federal laws, regulations and policy.
When selecting a relocation site, the Game and Fish and the federal agencies make every consideration to minimize the potential for future conflicts with ivestock and people. Relocated bears are radio collared and their location is monitored regularly. Bears normally move a considerable distance from the relocation site after released.
Both black and grizzly bears throughout northwest Wyoming remain active this year with ripening berries and dry conditions contributing to the animals using lower elevations. The Game and Fish asks residents in bear habitat to store food, livestock and pet food, garbage and bird feeders in a manner that makes them unavailable to foraging bears.
|