Lost grizzly killed by hunter

COEUR d’ALENE — The Montana grizzly bear that made its way into the Coeur d’Alene River Drainage last month was reportedly shot and killed by a hunter Wednesday evening.

Phil Cooper, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said the bear was shot about 6 miles north of Osburn.

“It is the collared bear that has been seen in the area,” Cooper said, adding the matter is still under investigation by IDFG and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“There are people who are being talked to right now,” Cooper said. “It was a hunter who shot the bear, but that is all we know. Bear season is open right now.”

Grizzly bears, however, are a protected species.

The 2-year-old, 165-pound grizzly was trapped and collared in Montana at the beginning of August. The bear was relocated to the Cabinet Mountains near Whitefish, Mont., days later.

Wildlife managers lost track of the bear until it was spotted near Kingston in early September.

Fish and Game officers attempted to recapture the bear over the last few weeks, but they were unsuccessful.

The bear was making its way east and was last spotted about 10 miles north of Osburn earlier this week.

Cooper said officers were still processing the scene at 1 p.m. Thursday near Kings Pass and Beaver Creek Road.