Wyoming Game and Fish Relocates Adult Grizzly Bear

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department captured and relocated an adult female grizzly bear in northwestern Wyoming on Sunday, according to a news release from the Department.

The bear was captured for livestock depredation northwest of Cody on private land.

The Department, after consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, relocated the bear to the Five Mile Creek drainage about five miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

Bears are relocated in accordance with state and federal law and regulation. The Department is required to update the public whenever a bear is relocated.

Carnivore biologists use relocation as a management tool to minimize conflicts between humans and the growing number of grizzly bears in Wyoming.

State and federal wildlife agencies need to capture and relocate bears when other deterrents or preventative options are exhausted or unattainable.

Once the agencies capture the animal, they take into account all circumstances when determining if it should be relocated.

If they believe relocation is warranted, they determine a site by considering the age, sex and type of conflict the bear was involved in as well as potential human activity nearby.

The agencies only relocate the grizzly bears into a recovery zone or adjacent areas. Game and Fish consults with appropriate agencies to minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the bear’s survival.

Bears that are considered a threat to human safety are not relocated, and may be removed from the population if they cannot be relocated successfully.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department continues to stress the importance of the public’s responsibility in bear management.

That includes keeping all attractants such as food, garbage, horse feed, bird seed unavailable to bears. That reduces human-bear conflicts, and in some cases, relocations.

Visit Bear Wise Wyoming for more information on grizzly bear management and reducing the potential for conflicts.