Tragedy struck northwest Montana last week when a female grizzly bear was shot to death in the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, and her two 15-month-old cubs left orphaned.  Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) personnel immediately launched an investigation into the suspicious death of the bear, but deciding what to do with the two furry survivors has proved a trickier task.

Traditionally, orphaned grizzly cubs have been sent to zoos or sanctuaries. Unfortunately, this route makes it difficult to reintroduce them into the wild because they lose their fear of people and never develop hunting skills. 

Therefore, state wildlife officials have decided to keep the young bears in their own neck of the woods, a bold step to take with two members of a threatened species. Grizzlies have been listed as threatened since 1975, and in 2006, Montana FWP developed a 165-page grizzly management plan to restore their dwindling numbers across 17 counties.

The two cubs will fend for themselves, hopefully avoiding starvation and predators until they reach maturity and spend the winter in hibernation. “They really are just cubs, you know. They’re yearlings,” Montana FWP spokesman John Fraley told Sierra over the phone. “Based on what our experts said, leaving them in the wild was the best thing for them.” The warm summer months make food more readily available to less experienced hunters, giving the cubs a better shot at survival. 

We’re rooting for you, little guys!

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