The Wyoming Game and Fish Department large carnivore section relocated an adult male grizzly bear on May 24 after the bear was found feeding on cattle on private land west of Cody.

In cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bridger-Teton National Forest, the grizzly bear was relocated to the Blackrock Creek drainage approximately 38 miles northwest of Dubois. Grizzly bears are relocated in accordance with state and federal law and regulation, and Game and Fish is required to update the public whenever a grizzly bear is relocated. 

The relocation of the species is a management tool biologists use to minimize conflicts with humans. Bears that are considered a threat to human safety are not relocated. In some cases, a bear may be lethally removed from the population if it cannot be relocated successfully.

So far this year, five grizzly bears have been euthanized in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of provisional documented known and probable grizzly bear mortalities. All of the bears were captured and removed for depredation of cattle in Wyoming. Three of the bears were found outside of habitat considered socially suitable for the predators, known as the Demographic Monitoring Area (DMA), while two were euthanized inside the DMA along the South Fork of the Shoshone River.

One of the euthanized bears captured outside the DMA was found near Redbank Creek south of Ten Sleep, one was south of Meeteetse near Gooseberry Creek and the third was captured and killed near Marquette Creek southwest of Cody.

“Capture is necessary when other deterrents or preventative options are exhausted or unattainable,” the Game and Fish Department said in a press release Tuesday.

Once the animal is captured, all circumstances are taken into account when determining if the individual should be relocated. If relocation is warranted, a site is determined by considering the age, sex, and type of conflict the bear was involved in as well as potential human activity nearby.

All decisions on the species are done after consultation with officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to protections extended to the species under the Endangered Species Act.

Grizzly bears are only relocated into the recovery zone or adjacent areas. With any relocation, Game and Fish consults with appropriate agencies to minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the relocated grizzly bear’s chance of survival.

Game and Fish continues to stress the importance of the public’s responsibility in bear management and the importance of keeping all attractants such as food, garbage, horse feed, bird seed unavailable to bears. Reducing attractants available to bears reduces conflicts with humans and ultimately may save the life of a grizzly bear.

For more information visit wgfd.wyo.gov/wyoming-wildlife/large-carnivore/bear-wise-wyoming.