Second female grizzly moved to Cabinet Mountains
by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
August 13, 2008
On Friday, August 8,, 2008, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly bear management specialists moved a second young female grizzly bear to the Cabinet Mountains as part of a project designed to augment the grizzly bear population in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem (CYE).
This is the second female grizzly to be moved to the Cabinet Mountains this summer. A young female grizzly bear was captured in the Whitefish Range in Northwestern Montana on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 and moved to the Libby area on Thursday, July 24, 2008.
This is the fourth bear in four years to be relocated in the Cabinet Mountain Range as part of the grizzly bear augmentation project currently funded by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Foundation.
The female grizzly bear trapped and moved on August 8th was captured in the Swan Valley and is estimated to be 3-4 years old. This 230 -pound female was previously caught in early May as a part of a Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) grizzly bear trend monitoring effort in the Swan Valley. The bear did not have a history of problems with humans and qualified for relocation as part of the CYE grizzly bear augmentation project. She would have been moved to the Cabinet Mountains at that time, but the snow was too deep to access the high elevation release site and little food was available at that elevation due to snow depths. Thus, she was fitted with a GPS radio collar and released at the site of her capture.
When this bear was observed via a remote wildlife viewing system on private property in the Swan Valley, the FWP was contacted. The viewing system was developed by Alter Enterprises and is located on private property owned by an individual who is cooperating with FWP in its grizzly bear management efforts. Since 2007, grizzly bear trapping efforts have included the use of remote camera systems in order to more selectively "target" young female grizzly bears for capture, reducing the capture of "non-target" bears such as male grizzlies and black bears. This is the first time FWP bear management specialists have used a "real time" remote wildlife viewing system in the identification and capture of a grizzly bear. FWP personnel were able to view the capture site from a remote location in real time and observed the bear go into the trap. "This knowledge contributes to our ability to move the bear in a timely manner resulting in much less stress on the bear," noted Tim Manley, FWP Grizzly Bear Management Specialist.
"Without the cooperation of this landowner and the use of his remote wildlife viewing system we would not have been able to locate and capture this bear," noted Jim Williams, Regional Wildlife Manager for FWP. "The cooperation of our Montana landowners significantly aids in our ability to effectively do this important work."
The project began in 2005 when a female grizzly, estimated to be three years old, was moved from the Swan Mountain Range to the west Cabinets. This bear was fitted with a radio collar and was monitored regularly until she dropped her collar on schedule two years later.
In 2006, a female grizzly bear less than three years old was moved from the Swan Mountain Range to the same area in the west Cabinets, where she continues to reside today.
In 2007, trapping efforts were improved and refined thorough the use of remote camera systems and attempted to more selectively "target" young female grizzly bears for capture and reduce the capture of "non-target" bears such as males and black bears. Throughout the 2007 summer trapping season, no suitable females were identified and captured. Thus, the capture and relocation of the female grizzly in July 2008, and this latest female grizzly, have special significance to the success of this project. Thus far, nine grizzly bears, the majority of which were males, have been captured in 2008 as part of this project.
Transplanted female grizzly bears are fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars. The GPS radio collars are used to gain location information from the transplanted bears. These bears are monitored by aircraft flights conducted by ongoing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service research in the area and as part of the grizzly monitoring activities in the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem (CYE).
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Foundation is a philanthropic organization which provides private support for conservation projects in Montana. The Foundation provides funds where the need is greatest and where private support will make the critical difference in the success of protecting Montana’s rich natural, cultural and recreational resources. The Foundation raises funds to support specific projects in the areas of: habitat conservation and enhancement, fish and wildlife management and research, education and parks and recreation.
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