Ranchers Locate Grizzly Cubs Belonging to Sow Shot by Hiker

Last week, I wrote about a Montana hiker who shot and injured a sow grizzly bear that attacked him, biting his thigh. The bear, which was tracked down and euthanized on April 8 by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks wardens, likely attacked the hiker because she believed he was a threat to her cubs.

According to the Billings Gazzette, a Dupuyer-area ranch family located the three orphaned cubs on Friday, April 10 in an open field. Worried that they'd be killed by an approaching blizzard or male grizzly, the ranchers called FWP to report them. While waiting for officers to arrive, the family gently roped the bears, and a neighboring rancher offered a barrel to hold the cubs until FWP arrived.

FWP is currently housing the animals at the agency's Montana WILD wildlife rehabilitation facility in Helena until a new home for them can be found at an accredited Association of Zoos and Aquariums facility. The cubs are still nursing, so the wildlife center staff is feeding them with a special formula. They cannot be returned to the wild because they will have been habituated to humans.

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