HELENA — Two grizzly bears have recently been relocated to a Wyoming part of the Greater Yellowstone Area from the North Fork of the Flathead.
A female sub-adult bear aged 3-4 years was relocated to an area west of Dubois, Wyoming. A 4-5 year old male was relocated to the west side of Yellowstone Lake.
Both bears were captured by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks within two days of each other. While other bears have been captured in the past, these sub-adult bears were chosen for relocation because of their age, lack of previous conflict, and lack of a settled home range.
Additionally, the bears will bring a more diverse genetic pool to the area, says Dustin Temple, Director for Montana FWP.
“The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem’s been genetically isolated for roughly a hundred years. This gives nature a head start on making sure that there is introduction of a different genetic profile into that population. We know that that population is a little less diverse than the Northern Continental Divide ecosystem, so it's important for bears, first of all,” says Temple.
Governor Greg Gianforte called for grizzly bear delisting during the press conference, giving the power of management over to the state.
“It’s time for the bear to be delisted and this is one additional step showing we're committed to a healthy population across the entire region,” says Gianforte.
