Cody – After consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department captured and relocated an adult male grizzly bear on May 4.
The bear was captured for cattle depredation on private land and relocated in the Sunlight creek drainage approximately 30 miles from the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.
Bears are relocated in accordance with state and federal law and regulation, and Game and Fish is required to notify the media whenever a grizzly bear is relocated.
WHY RELOCATION?
Grizzly bear relocation is a management tool large carnivore biologists use to minimize conflicts between humans and grizzly bears. It is critical to managing the expanding population of grizzly bears in Wyoming.
Capture is necessary when other deterrent or preventative options are exhausted or unattainable. Once the animal is captured, all circumstances are taken into account when determining if the individual should be relocated. If relocation is warranted, a site is determined by considering the age, sex, and type of conflict the bear was involved in as well as potential human activity nearby.
Grizzly bears are only relocated into areas already occupied by other grizzly bears. With any relocation, Game and Fish consults with appropriate agencies to minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the relocated grizzly bear’s survival.
Bears that are considered a threat to human safety are NOT relocated. In some cases, a bear may be removed from the population if it cannot be relocated successfully.
HOW THE PUBLIC CAN HELP
Game and Fish continues to stress the importance of the public’s responsibility in bear management and the importance of keeping all attractants such as food, garbage, horse feed, bird seed unavailable to bears. Reducing attractants available to bears reduces human-bear conflicts, and in some cases, relocations.
