Black bear and cub killed after injuring Victor resident | Bear advocacy group aims to educate people on west side of Tetons
Published August 02, 2023
Originally published in Jackson Hole News & Guide on August 1, 2023. Written By Jeannette Boner .
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE--Driggs, Idaho – August 1, 2023 -- The Idaho Fish and Game killed an adult female black bear and a yearling cub near Mahogany Ridge in the Big Hole Mountains on Monday after the bear injured a man in his garage.
According to Fish and Game communications director James Brower, a resident west of Victor opened his garage door to find the bear with her cub. Brower said bear “attacked” the man. The man was able to escape and called Idaho Fish and Game right away. Brower said the man did not accept medical treatment at the scene.
Brower said both bears were shot near a neighboring home in the area. The bears were disposed of at the Jefferson County, Idaho landfill.
Brower said that it was unclear if the animals had been habituated to human food but that a predatory attack such as the one on Monday suggested high-risk bear behavior.
The bears continue to highlight a growing interface of wildlife and human interaction as Teton Valley continues to develop, and the Teton Valley Bear Wise program is working to elevate educational efforts of bears in the area.
The Teton Valley Bear Wise program was born out of last year’s Fish and Game killing of a mother grizzly and her two cubs in Tetonia . Since then the group has hosted preeminent grizzly bear expert Christopher Servheen in Driggs this past spring. In July the program was awarded a grant through the Vital Grounds Foundation.
Bevin Taylor is with the Teton Geo Center Discovery Hub and Museum that serves at the nonprofit sponsor for the Bear Wise group. She said on Tuesday that the grant will support efforts to create informational materials on bears and bear conflicts for residents and visitors, working closely with Ben Jimenez, conflict coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Recovery Program.
She said the group also hopes to continue to bring in scientists and wildlife experts for speaking engagements in Teton Valley.
Teton Valley Bear Wise has worked with other organizations, including People and Carnivores, Wyoming Wildlife Advocates and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation.