Walking Bear implicated in deaths of four calves in Ovando

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park bear specialists are in charge of collaring a certain number of bears for research purposes. In 2016, a male grizzly nicknamed Walking Bear was captured and collared northeast of Ovando.

This month that same bear was implicated in the deaths of four calves on summer pasture northeast of Ovando.

Grizzly populations have been increasing in Montana over the years and the effort to delist the bears from the endangered species list has gone in and out of court systems. Delisting would put the management of the species under the state's control instead of the federal government's, which those in favor of delisting think could provide better solutions to problems like cattle depredation, or cattle deaths by predators.

Currently, when a rancher loses a cow to a predator, like a grizzly bear or a wolf, verification by the Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services can provide the rancher with monetary compensation. But there isn't any compensation available for missing or unverified livestock. And the distance and time between the carcasses and those who verify the killings in remote parts of Montana can be detrimental to the outcome.

The Blackfoot Challenge, a conservation group focused on the Blackfoot watershed, started a range rider program in response to heightened wolf activity in the Blackfoot area. From May 1 to Oct. 31 range riders monitor herds of cattle on horseback throughout summer grazing ranges outside of Potomac, Ovando, Helmville and along the Blackfoot River corridor downstream of Lincoln. They communicate with ranchers as they monitor carnivore activity and general herd health.

Walking Bear was around five to seven years old, weighing 475 pounds, when he was collared. He wore the collar for about a year, which gave FWP bear specialists a window into his movements and health.

Collar data showed he traveled from Kleinschmidt Flats in Ovando to the Blackfoot headwaters; into the Scapegoat Wilderness and the Blackfoot Valley through Aunt Molly fishing access; and then on a trip behind Seeley Lake, up the Swan Valley and into the Mission Mountains, ending up in a corn field in Ronan in the fall.

"We think he must have been born in the Ronan area and knew about the cornfield," Jamie Jonkel, FWP Region 2 bear biologist, said. "Then as a young adult he got pushed out of the area over the mountains and came to the Blackfoot Valley."

FWP was due to collar another bear for research in 2018 and happened to capture Walking Bear along the Blackfoot River between Helmville and Lincoln. By then he was bigger and weighed 535 pounds. He wore another collar for three more years, which showed he took trips back to Ronan every year for the corn, then returned to the Blackfoot Valley to den.

On July 15, Blackfoot Challenge range riders came upon a dead calf while checking a local rancher's herd pastured northeast of Ovando. It had old wounds and did not show any signs of predation. It was reported to the rancher and Wildlife Services.

In the few days it took for Wildlife Services to arrive the carcass had signs of being scavenged by a bear. Due to the extremely remote nature of the area, extensive berry habitat and frequent bear activity, it was treated as a random occurrence.

On Aug. 7 a routine pasture check by range riders showed a wounded calf in the same area. The rancher and range rider returned to look for it the next day and found a different calf that had been completely consumed recently by a bear. The other wounded calf carcass was eventually found mostly consumed by a bear.

Ranchers began checking the cattle daily as well as moving them to a different pasture. A few days later a calf was found with injuries consistent with a bear attack. The calf could not survive and was euthanized to use as bait to trap the bear. The bear met the same fate.

"It was Walking Bear. There have been no further calf losses, so we think we got the right bear," Jonkel said.

Walking Bear had no other known issues with civilization like getting into garbage, bird feeders or chicken coops. His teeth were wearing down and he had a few injuries consistent with attaining middle age in the bear world, Jonkel said.

The pastures these cattle are in are 600 to 2,500 acres in size and have been used by the rancher for decades. The rancher said it was their first confirmed grizzly depredation.

Why a grown bear would start feeding on calves remains unknown, Jonkel said.

"It's like us trying out a new restaurant in town," Jonkel said. "Bears are opportunistic feeders, he may have observed the behavior from another bear. Certain bears learn to do that."

At the beginning of September, Missoula County will implement the Potomac Bear Mitigation Zone, which is part of an expanded bear buffer zone that includes the upper Rattlesnake, east Missoula and Bonner.

Customers of Republic Services or Grizzly Disposal in the mitigation zone will automatically get a new bear resistant garbage can. Those without garbage service will be required to have their garbage stored in something like a horse trailer that bears cannot open.

Examples of approved garbage containment systems can be found in Seeley Lake at The Ice Cream place, the elementary school, The Filling Station and Curly's in Potomac.

Although bear resistant garbage cans are available for the public to purchase, Jonkel recommended using the ones distributed by garbage companies as they have a better warranty than the public can get.

"It's not a matter of if the can will get damaged by the garbage trucks," Jonkel said. "It's when. And the garbage companies will replace their own cans for free."

Overall Jonkel reports that the summer has been pretty smooth as far as bears go. The berry harvest cycle was good - starting with serviceberries, huckleberries, chokecherries - and now a lot of bears are on hawthorn berries, Jonkel said.

When it gets really dry and berries start to wane, bears begin to come down to wet areas with lots of vegetation, Jonkel said. Generally, that's near people's homes and coincides with bears preparing for hibernation.

"I'm hoping it will stay a little (more moist) and that bears will hang on a little longer," Jonkel said. "September, October and November are usually the highest conflict times."