Idaho Fish and Game traps, kills young grizzlies over ‘clear threat to public safety’
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has killed two young grizzly bears in Eastern Idaho after the animals repeatedly showed aggressive behavior toward humans, the agency said in a news release.
Fish and Game officials said they trapped and killed the one-and-a-half-year-old bears, one male and one female, on Thursday around the small community of Squirrel, near Ashton. The agency said the bears posed “a clear and ongoing threat to public safety” after they became habituated to human food.
According to the news release, Fish and Game tried to haze the bears away from humans for two months prior to their capture. Officials said despite working with residents to secure possible food sources, the bears continued to eat garbage, pet food and chicken feed.
“Additionally, they attempted to break into an occupied trailer, caused damage to residences, pushed on an occupied tent, were on multiple porches, showed aggression to people, and were twice sprayed with bear spray by the public,” Fish and Game said.
The agency has killed multiple bears in Eastern Idaho in recent years. The most recent was a sow grizzly and two cubs near Tetonia in November 2022.
