The two tried to rouse the bear and eventually got the door open to try and draw him out.

“I was assuming the bear would just come running out of there,” Beatty said. “He just went back to bed.”

“He would look at us and yawn,” Sargent added. “Never did anything aggressive toward us.”

At that point, the officers settled in to wait for the bear to either wander out the door or for Fish, Wildlife and Parks to arrive with tranquilizers. FWP showed up first and ended up tranquilizing and relocating the bear.

Jonkel characterized the bear as a “typical young male,” around three years old and about 70 pounds. He said the bear was relocated to the foothills of the Mission Mountains northeast of Missoula.

“He was just starting out on his own,” Jonkel said, adding there were reports of a bear eating dandelions and grass in yards recently in Butler Creek.

“We’ve had a ton of activity in Grant Creek and Butler Creek,” he said, as well as in Seeley Lake, West Riverside, Bonner and Clinton.

Bear activity is common this time of year, Jonkel said, as bears come looking for nice green grass or clovers to munch on, and are easily attracted by bird feeders, dog food or trash.