Two Grizzly Bears Moved to Cabinet Mountains
The following information is from Montana FWP:
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced that it moved two grizzly bears into the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem in Lincoln County as part of a program designed to boost the bear population.
FWP, in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, captured the bears in the Whitefish Range. The first bear, a sub-adult female weighing 94 pounds, was released July 13 in the Spar Lake area on the Kootenai National Forest south of Troy. The second bear, a sub-adult male weighing 194 pounds, was released July 16 in the same area.
The Cabinet-Yaak Augmentation Program began in 1990 in an effort to save the population and boost genetic diversity. In 1988, biologists estimated fewer than 15 grizzly bears remained in the area.
Twenty-two bears have now been added in the Cabinet Mountains since the program’s inception.
Officials strerss that all bears moved through the program have no history of conflicts with people.
The current population of grizzly bears in the Cabinet-Yaak is estimated at 55-60 individuals with approximately half of these in the Cabinet Mountains and half in the Yaak River area.