Bear Feeding Chaos in Red Lodge Leading to Dangerous Conflicts

When someone who has worked in the area for 50 years says, I've never seen bears behaving quite like this," you know you have a serious problem.

DANGEROUS CONFLICTS WITH BOTH BLACK BEARS AND GRIZZLIES

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks tells us that bear conflicts in the Red Lodge area are raising serious alarms for wildlife managers and resulting in Montana FWP having to euthanize numerous bears.

Shawn Stewart, a Montana FWParks wildlife biologist who has worked in the area for more than five decades, was quoted as saying, I've never seen bears behaving quite like this. They’re bolder, breaking into vehicles and homes in broad daylight and approaching, following and even chasing people.”

LEARNED BEHAVIOR

The cause of this spike in alarming bear activity is almost exclusively linked to bears getting into human food, through unsecured attractants and, in some cases, FWP suspects some people are intentionally feeding bears. This activity is illegal in Montana. Montana state law prohibits the intentional feeding of game animals, including bears, and supplemental feeding through negligent actions involving bird feeders, garbage or other pet or human food attractants.

Feeding bears and many other wildlife species is not only illegal, but also creates abnormal behaviors in bears and safety risks for the public.

FOOD SOURCES GO HAND-IN-HAND WITH AGGRESSION

Bear conflicts in the Red Lodge area have increased the past three years, but nothing like wildlife managers are seeing this year. So far this year, FWP has euthanized six black bears in the area due to severe food conditioning and safety concerns for the public.

The lethal removal of such bears is often the only course of action to keep humans and property safe. Placement in zoos is rarely an option as most zoos don’t have capacity for more bears, and if they did, they generally want young cubs.

READ MORE: U of Montana Grizzly Bears Awarded Co-Branding With Smokey Bear

Some black and grizzly bears in the Red Lodge area have become aggressive and bold around humans. FWP suspects intentional feeding is contributing to this abnormal behavior.

Anyone with possible information about intentional wildlife feeding is encouraged to visit tipmont.mt.gov to provide details.