UPDATE: Grizzly kills sheep near Fort Shaw School, returns

State wildlife officials have confirmed that a grizzly bear killed five sheep in a pasture on the outskirts of Fort Shaw early Sunday morning, then returned two more times to attack more sheep that had been moved to pens only a few feet from the rancher's house.

Fort Shaw rancher Jay Skoog discovered the bodies of two ewes and three lambs early Sunday. One of the ewes lay directly adjacent to a fence-line separating Skoog's property from the Fort Shaw School, and approximately 240 feet from one of the school buildings.

No staff or students were present at the time, and no one witnessed the initial livestock depredation.

After finding the dead sheep, Skoog moved his remaining flock into pens just outside the family home. The bear came back later that same evening.

"He showed up at about 8 o'clock last night," Skoog said Monday morning. "We were sitting in the living room, and the sheep ran past the window with the bear right on their heels. So I went out and fired a round and scared him off."

At around 2 a.m. Monday morning, Skoog and his family were startled out of bed by the sound of the family's peacocks screeching in the middle of the night.

"I wasn't sleeping very soundly because I was afraid he'd come back," Skoog said of the bear. "I left the window open so I could hear any activity out there and the peacocks started making noise. I ran out on my back porch and he came around the corner of the house. We just about met. He was probably 20 feet from me."

Skoog fired a second round from his rifle into the ground and scared the bear off a second time.

"I've had sheep there for 25 years," Skoog said. "I've never had problems with bears."

A state game warden from the Fort Shaw area set a culvert trap for the bear late Sunday evening, baiting the large barrel-style trap with one of the sheep carcasses. However the bear managed to snag the carcass and remove it from the trap without being caught.

Officials from the Wildlife Services Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture have since removed the culvert trap and have replaced it with two wire foot-snares that are designed to capture the bear without injuring it. As of 7 p.m. Monday the bear had still eluded capture.

According to Mike Madel, a wildlife biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Sunday's sheep kill is the farthest downstream on the Sun River that he's seen in his 30 years as a specialist in bear management.

"There's no question that a grizzly bear was involved," Madel said. "It chased down several of the sheep and killed them, and fed on one of the lambs quite a bit. We're trying to get up and down the Sun River to let other sheep operators know that it would be really good for them to put their sheep inside a building so that they're protected for the next few nights while we're trying to capture this bear."

Based upon its track measurements, biologist believe the bear weighs between 200 and 250 pounds. It is likely a young sub-adult who was recently been kicked off by its mother, and was attracted to Skoog's sheep by two bone-piles located near the edge of the Sun River.

"It's a young, inexperienced bear that's got a good protein reward out of the whole situation," Madel said.

Up until the mid-2000s it was very uncommon to see grizzlies east of the Interstate-15 corridor. However the bears have been expanding their territory eastward onto the plains for the past decade, frequently following the major river drainages flowing from the Rocky Mountain Front.

In 2010, an adult male grizzly was captured at the confluence of the Marias River and Teton River, just north of Loma and about 50 miles northeast of Great Falls. On June 30, 2014, a trio of sub-adult grizzlies killed two calves at a ranch on the Teton River north of Carter, and grizzlies are now a regular sight around Valier and Choteau.

"About four years ago two bears came in close to Simms and started to prey on goats in somebody's backyard," Madel said. "We captured one of those bears and relocated it on the other side of the divide. Then in the fall of 2013, a lone bear was spotted running through pastures south of Fort Shaw."

"I think it's very fair to say it's not if, but when a grizzly bear comes within the outskirts of Great Falls," he added. "Fort Shaw is only 25 miles or so from Great Falls, and the Sun River is wide with a very thickly vegetated river bottom. It's very possible there are other grizzly bears that occur down along the Sun River, west toward Simms and farther up."

Even though grizzlies are becoming more common, Madel emphasized that people should not discontinue their regular outdoor activities based upon a fear of running into one.

"I think it's important for people to know that their chances of having a close encounter with a bear; or even a distant encounter, are really low," he said. "It's frightening because they stand up on their hind legs to try and identify what you are, but because of years of conditioning, once they see you they almost always take off and run."

"We don't want to discourage anybody from enjoying their outdoor activities; camping, fishing along the creeks — even where there might even be bears," Madel added. "Just make sure that you carry bear spray, and to make plenty of noise when you're down in those areas that are densely vegetated."

If the Fort Shaw bear is captured, state wildlife officials will examine it to see if it has been previously tagged, has a lip-tattoo or has a radio collar — evidence that the bear has had earlier encounters with humans.

"If it has no previous nuisance history, we will go ahead and mark it and radio collar it," Madel said. "Then there will be an inter-agency discussion on where the best relocation site is. I'm going to recommend that it's relocated west of the continental divide."

12 ways to safeguard your home from bears

•Avoid feeding pets outside at dawn or dusk when bears are most active and do not leave their food unattended at any time.

•Human garbage is a primary bear attractant. Garbage should be stored where bears can neither smell nor gain access to it, either in a bear-proof container or inside a building.

•Grills with food and grease, as well as cooking utensils, leftovers, and used plates and cups attract bears.

•Avoid using bird feeders March through November; birds don't need supplemental feed at this time and bird seed is irresistible to bears.

•Bears generally do not present a threat to livestock, but special caution should be taken during lambing and calving.

•A carcass may or may not be a bear attractant, depending on how clean it is.

•Beehives, honey and bee larvae are especially attractive to bears.

•Anything other than grass and leaves should not be composted outdoors. Composting meat, fish, oil, dairy, kitchen waste, melon and other fruit are all odorous and can easily lure a bear to your home.

•Bears crave fruit and vegetables. Pick fruit and vegetables as they ripen and plant your garden as far away from your house as possible.

•Use native plant landscaping whenever possible. Avoid plants that attract bears.

•Don't leave food or garbage in a vehicle or the back of a pickup truck.

•Don't put out salt licks, grain or deer blocks to attract wild animals.