You better bear-lieve it

Stories are often told about how far, and quickly, wildlife can travel. Some are almost too hard to believe. Fish and Game wildlife biologists in the Magic Valley region now have another story to tell about the black bear cub that walked well over 120 miles in about 17 days.

This bear story starts in Carmen which is just north of Salmon, where Salmon’s regional wildlife biologists have been dealing with a significant uptick in black bears in the area. Most of the bears have been finding attractants, such as unsecured residential garbage and pet food.

A particular black bear cub was becoming a repeat visitor to a residence where it was finding unsecured pet food, which can quickly lead to the bear becoming food conditioned. 

A food-conditioned bear is never a good thing — and can often lead to a bear being put down due to public safety concerns.

Because of its young age, local biologists determined it to be a good candidate for relocation. On Oct. 3, a regional wildlife biologist from Salmon darted and ear-tagged the cub and relocated it to Panther Creek in the Salmon National Forest.

Ear tags have a unique number that allows for future identification if biologists encounter the bear again, or a hunter harvests the bear. Knowing a bear’s history, even if it’s a small portion of its life, can be important information for wildlife biologists. 

The trek begins

What happened over the next 17 days is anyone’s guess. But what we do know is that the bear cub with its small green ear tag in its right ear that was released Oct. 3 was then observed by residents in Hailey the weekend of Oct. 19-20.

The distance from the release area to Hailey is estimated at over 120 miles air miles.

Throughout its trek, the bear cub had to encounter many large rivers and smaller streams, several mountain ranges, state highways and county roads and untold number of vehicles. 

Bear reported in Hailey

The first report received by the Magic Valley Regional Office about the black bear cub came Oct. 21. Conservation officers were the first to respond to the reported sighting, finding the young bear in a residential backyard, eating apples.

Fruit trees, like unsecured garbage carts are a food attractant that can draw in and keep bears in neighborhoods.

One local report came from a middle school student who captured a picture of the small bear near the Wood River Middle School on Oct. 20.

Decision to trap and relocate

Once on scene, Fish and Game staff determined the young bear was in good physical condition and the probability of it being able to survive on its own was good, meaning it was a good candidate for relocation. 

While the young bear has shown a tendency to seek out human food sources, the hope is that it has not become fully food conditioned. 

Using a baited cage trap, staff were able to capture the yearling bear and transport it to the regional office in Jerome for relocation outside the area of the Wood River Valley, away from fruit and garbage attractants.

Free ride to eastern Idaho

After being transported to the regional office in Jerome, wildlife staff were able to find a more suitable area for release in eastern Idaho. 

Wildlife biologists from the southeast region took possession of the bear Oct. 22 and then released the bear east of Pocatello in the Caribou National Forest.

Bears in the Wood River Valley 2024

The Magic Valley region has been extremely busy with black bear calls coming in from the Wood River Valley. Since early August, the region has received well over 80 calls, which is merely a fraction of bear sightings over the last few months.

In 2024, Fish and Game has relocated two black bears to other areas of the state and transported one bear cub to a licensed bear rehabilitation center. No bears have been euthanized in the Wood River Valley since 2022.