Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Highway collision spells doom for bear

Fish & Game says animal had been causing trouble near Gimlet

---

By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

Fish & Game officer Rob Morris lifts a dead black bear into a transport vehicle Friday. He said it was likely hit by a semi or large truck while crossing state Highway 75 during the night or early morning.

A female black bear was killed by a motor vehicle early Friday on state Highway 75 at Boxcar Bend, just north of East Fork Road.

Rob Morris, the Fish and Game conservation officer on the scene, said it was likely one of the "problem bears" that had been getting into garbage in the Gimlet and East Fork neighborhoods.

Morris estimated the bear was about 3 years old and 150 pounds. Due to the severity of the bear's injuries, Morris said, the animal was likely hit by a large vehicle such as a semi truck, likely at night or in the early morning when a black bear on a dark road would be less visible.

Conservation officer Lee Garwood said he'd been trying to trap this particular bear for several weeks. The bear was likely one of a pair of 3-year-olds that had been foraging around the area.

Garwood said bears of about that age are still seeking a home range, having recently struck out on their own. If bears are taught by their mothers to forage around town, he said, they will continue to forage there as young adults. Bears also use the river areas as migration corridors, which is likely why the bear was in the area.

Chicken owners in Gimlet and Hailey have been experiencing problems as of late, Garwood said, as bears see chicken coops as an easy place to pick up a meal.

Garwood urges chicken owners to bear-proof their enclosures to avoid poultry deaths.

"A lot of people don't think about it until something happens," he said.

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com

buy viagra
acheter viagra
comprar viagra