A family gathering

Just as predicted, the traffic-stopping black bear family that was treed along U.S. 93 south of Whitefish climbed down after dark Monday, escaping after a long and stressful day.

The mother and her four cubs were up the tree for safety, but with all of the leaves off the tree, they were highly visible from the highway.

That caused hundreds of motorists throughout the day to slow down or pull over and get out to take pictures of the unique wildlife sight.

Traffic control and keeping people away from the bears became a coordinated effort among the Montana Highway Patrol, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Montana Department of Transportation and the Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

"At 4:30 it began to hit critical mass," said Erik Wenum, the bear and mountain lion specialist for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "Rush hour traffic for the Flathead, if you will, was very, very bad ... This became a public safety response, just trying to keep traffic flowing and to avoid fender-benders or even worse, someone getting hit by a car."

Wenum said there was an effort to keep people 100 yards away from the bears, and at times that was frustrating.

"People were telling us how bad they felt for the bears and in the same breath they'd ask if they could get closer," he said, adding that the constant presence of people was stressful for the bears and the reason they stayed in the tree all day.

"At one point, two of the cubs came to the ground just out of sheer exhaustion," he said. "They were shaking so bad because they couldn't hold onto the tree any more."

The two cubs eventually went back up to be with their mother and traffic control continued until after dark. Wenum said onlookers thinned out and all four cubs came down, followed by their mother.

They faded away to the east shortly before 9 p.m., away from traffic on the highway, but Wenum hopes they managed to safely cross the road sometime later to the west of the highway where they had been ranging recently.

"My concern now is I don't know where they are," Wenum said Tuesday morning.

"I'd like to hear from folks" if they spot the bears, he said.

Wenum urges people living in the area south of Whitefish to secure pet foods, garbage and other potential attractants, including cast fruit.

"They certainly don't need additional food from people," he said. "They are all in very good shape."