LOS ANGELES: Officials in Montana have confirmed the euthanization of a grizzly bear associated with a woman’s death in the state several weeks ago.
According to a press release from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the grizzly bear, known for prior conflicts with humans, was euthanized after it broke into a residence near West Yellowstone.
The incident was reported by a homeowner who stated that a bear with a cub had entered the home through a kitchen window in the early hours of a Saturday morning.
Later that same evening, authorities from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, in collaboration with local law enforcement, captured the cub and had to shoot the adult grizzly due to its food-conditioned behavior, which immediately threatened public safety.
Genetic analysis and other identifying characteristics confirmed that this bear had been involved in a fatal attack on a woman near West Yellowstone in July. Additionally, the same bear was implicated in an encounter in Idaho in 2020 that injured an individual near Henrys Lake State Park.
Officials point out that grizzly bear populations are steadily increasing and expanding throughout Montana, leading to a higher likelihood of residents and recreationists encountering them in various areas yearly.
The Billings Gazette, a daily newspaper based in Montana, claimed that the woman’s death marks the 20th grizzly bear fatality to be reported in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 1892. —Xinhua/APP
