‘Killing bears is the worst part of my job’

Grizzly bear management specialist Tim Manley recently had to kill a productive 20-year-old sow grizzly named Monica and her three yearling cubs after they repeatedly got into garbage and broke into vehicles.

He didn’t want to do it.

“I have said it many times before, killing bears is the worst part of my job,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “We try to avoid having to do it but when bears become very food-conditioned and start begin causing property damage and breaking into vehicles, trailers, and cabins, those bears are removed.”

Bear #418, known to locals as Monica, was euthanized Saturday, Sept. 4 along with her three female yearlings, after receiving a multitude of food rewards over the previous week.

“Due to several incidents involving improper food and garbage storage within an eight-mile radius of the Polebridge townsite the bears were ultimately deemed food-conditioned,” according to a press release from the North Fork Landowners Association and the North Fork Preservation Association.”

Monica had been a resident female grizzly bear in the North Fork Valley for 17 years.

The two nonprofits will be working together, along with agency partners, to help improve food and garbage storage in the area as well as to make financial aid resources from conservation organizations such as Defenders of Wildlife and Vital Ground more readily available to residents and business owners in the North Fork.

“The North Fork community deeply grieves the loss of Monica and her cubs and in the coming months will explore new avenues to further educate and assist residents and visitors in how to live and recreate in bear country in a manner safe for both bears and humans,” the release said.

Manley wrote that “it was a difficult week. One that I would rather not repeat. I have read some of the comments and I understand everyone’s concerns and feelings."

Manley wrote they tried to prevent further conflicts from occurring, "but as you will see, this family group of bears were very food-conditioned and the property damage was extensive and knowing what they were going to do next was difficult to predict."

“Monica” was originally captured in 2004 and relocated to the west side of Glacier Park. She remained in the North Fork for 17 years and spent a majority of her time in Glacier National Park, but denned in Hay Creek and on Cyclone.

During those 17 years she was captured twice in culvert traps set for research. She wore the radio collars for a few years before they dropped off. During those 17 years, we documented her having at least four litters. Two litters of two and two litters of three.

“While she often spent time near homes and was observed by residents, she did not cause conflicts that we knew about until the fall of 2018 when she had just two of her three yearlings with her,” he wrote.

“The initial reports we had were that the family group had ripped into a yurt, damaged two vehicles, got into unsecured garbage, and had pushed on a trailer. The observers reported it was the two yearlings that were causing the conflicts. We captured both the yearlings and the decision was made to lethally remove them. Monica was wearing a radio collar from June of 2017, so we were able to monitor her movements. We did get a report that another car had been damaged after the yearlings had been removed and Monica was in that general area. We also had a report of a grizzly getting into a Kodiak bear resistant container in Polebridge. After that, there were no reports of conflicts.

“Monica dropped her radio collar south of the Home Ranch Bottoms in late 2018. During 2019, we didn’t have any reports of conflicts and she didn’t have any cubs that year,” he wrote.

Then, reports of conflicts with the bears began to surface.

Here is what Manley wrote:

“On 9/1, we got a report that grizzly bears had broken into an unoccupied camp trailer on property near Home Ranch Bottoms. The bears had done extensive damage to the trailer and got a big food reward. We moved a trap to that location and kept the other traps just south of Polebridge where the first yearling was still being held. On the morning of the 2nd, we had captured the second yearling. A 119 lb female. Originally, in discussions with the USFWS, we thought about relocating the yearlings and removing the adult female. After we saw the damage to the camp trailer, vehicles, and the large amount of food rewards all the bears had received, the decision was made to remove the entire family group. We drugged and used euthanasia solution to kill the first two yearlings.

"On 9/3, we captured the third yearling at the camp trailer. A 134lb female. The adult female went to the culvert traps but didn’t go all the way in and pull on the bait. We put down the third yearling.

"The afternoon of 9/3, we had three culvert traps at the camp trailer and also set 3 foot snares for the adult female. Since she wasn’t going in the culvert traps and the 3 yearlings had been captured, it was safe to set the foot snares and not have to worry about capturing a yearling in a foot snare and having to drug and handle it at the site with the adult female loose.

"Monica was captured in one of the foot snares the night of 9/3. On the morning of the 4th, we drugged and then killed her with the euthanasia solution. We had confirmed it was her based on the microchip. She was in fair shape, a little thin. She weighed 265 lbs. Her teeth were worn down but what you would expect for a 20 year old bear. She was lactating, so the yearlings were probably still nursing on her. We find that nursing is an energetic drain on some of the females and they may do things when they cubs or yearlings that they normally wouldn’t do…. like seek out garbage or break into vehicles or structures.”

Since, there have been many discussions about how to prevent any more bear conflicts.

“We have seen the same thing happen with other bears in the NFK that I ended up removing,” Manley wrote. “It tends to start with bears hanging around in peoples yards feeding on the green grass and clover. Bears eating ground squirrels that are shot and left in yards. Some people are still putting out bird feeders that bears are getting into. We have/had people that intentionally feed bears. That teaches them to come to houses to look for food. The more comfortable they become around houses, the more chance they will find garbage or pet food that has been left out. They then get that search image and will start testing places that are normally safe to keep some food or garbage… like in a vehicle, trailer, yurt, or garage. The next step is unoccupied cabins and houses. It is a slippery slope for bears and it usually doesn’t end well.”