Grizzlies caught, released

by Cat Urbigkit

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has been busy with grizzlies in the Upper Green River region in the last week, capturing and releasing three bears.

WG&F bear management officer Brian DeBolt said in an interview this week that on Thursday a sub-adult male grizzly was captured in the Fish Creek area. Because it was a non-offending bear, it was collared and released onsite.

The next day an adult female was captured nearby and was also collared and released onsite.

These two bears were feeding on carcasses, but were determined to be non-offenders, DeBolt said, because evidence left at the scene of cattle kills indicated a larger bear was involved.

There have been about a dozen cattle confirmed as grizzly bear kills so far this year, DeBolt said.

On Saturday, wildlife officials responded to the first confirmed sheep kill by a grizzly bear this season, DeBolt said. A male grizzly was captured, and because it was his first offense, was relocated to the Cody area.

So far this year, wildlife officials have captured seven grizzlies in the Upper Green, with one euthanized, two released back into the area and four moved to the Cody area.

DeBolt said Tuesday that there were no further capture efforts ongoing, but WG&F was waiting for a fresh kill from which to trap. He noted that both WG&F and USDA Wildlife Services personnel have had a continuous presence in the Upper Green since early July, addressing conflicts and working with local cowboys and range riders.

Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday that in response to continued livestock depredations, last Friday the last remaining wolves in the Green River pack were destroyed. An adult wolf and two 50-pound pups were killed. Although still called pups, these wolves run with the pack and can learn hunting behavior, including livestock killing, from adult pack members. Jimenez said that because the pups didn’t have their adult teeth, they didn’t yet pose a real danger to livestock, outside of the learned behavior issue.

That makes 18 wolves killed in Sublette County so far this year in response to livestock depredations. There have been nine confirmed cattle kills to wolves in the Upper Green River region this grazing season.