CODY, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has announced that an adult female grizzly bear was relocated on Sunday, Aug. 6, from northwest of Cody to the Five Mile Creek drainage, which is about five miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
The bear was moved due to livestock depredation on private land, according to WGFD.
This is the third bear to be relocated in 2023. Earlier this summer, two subadult grizzly bears were relocated to Boone Creek drainage, north of Moran.
In 2022, WGFD captured 21 individual grizzly bears in an attempt to prevent or resolve conflicts, down 46 percent from the previous year’s number of 45 grizzlies. Only six of those 21 captures resulted in relocations. In 2021, 19 bears were relocated.
According to WGFD, grizzlies are relocated to prevent conflicts between bears and humans, a critical part of managing Wyoming’s growing grizzly bear population. Bears that are considered a threat to human safety are typically not relocated, and instead are removed from the population.
WGFD wishes to stress the importance of the public’s responsibility in bear management. Wyomingites should keep all attractants (including food, trash, horse feed and bird seed) unavailable to bears.
For more information on grizzly bear management and reducing the potential for conflicts, see WGFD’s Bear Wise Wyoming webpage.
