JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has announced that a grizzly bear was relocated over the weekend to avoid conflicts with humans.
WGFD coordinated with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to capture and relocate a subadult male grizzly bear on Saturday, Aug. 26. The bear was exhibiting “habituated roadside behavior that resulted in human safety issues on a state highway,” according to WGFD’s press release. The highway in question is Togwotee Pass, Buckrail has confirmed.
“Substantial efforts to prevent people from practicing unethical wildlife viewing practices were unsuccessful,” WGFD said. “Due to negligent human behavior and to protect people and the animal, the grizzly bear was moved.”
Bears who become acclimated to roadside environments face increased chances of being hit by vehicles.
The bear was released on the Fall River drainage, approximately 28 miles northwest of Moran.
This is the fifth bear relocation of 2023, and the third this month. Two grizzlies were relocated to the Five Mile Creek drainage in separate instances earlier in August, and two subadult grizzly bears were relocated to Boone Creek drainage in July.
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.
