Karl Puckett

Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A young, fat grizzly bear that was euthanized for preying on cattle in Montana will be stuffed and displayed at a Great Falls hospital.

The bear had been captured and released once before earlier this year. At that time, it received an ear tag numbered 666.

“It’s potentially one of the fattest bears I’ve ever handled,” said Mike Madel, a grizzly bear management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

When the bear’s hide was removed by a taxidermist in Great Falls, 6 inches of fat was measured on its back, which Madel called astounding.

“It was really something to see a bear in that good of shape,” he said.

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It was a very good year for berries, which probably contributed to its good condition, along with the additional protein from eating the calves, Madel said.

A female grizzly with three cubs captured along Dupuyer Creek also was very fat, he noted.

The 3-year-old male will be displayed at Benefis Health System in Great Falls.

The hospital previously requested a mount of a bear for display at the hospital, Madel said.

Benefis spokesman Ben Buckridge described the grizzly bear as "an iconic symbol of Montana."

"Benefis Health System is honored to be able to display this grizzly in a setting where many people can both enjoy seeing it and learning more about the grizzly bear," he said.

Great Falls Taxidermy is preparing a full mount of the bear, which had a distinctive golden head with dark brown legs.

“It’s a very typical Rocky Mountain Front plains grizzly bear,” Madel said. “It’s probably very typical of the bears Lewis and Clark would have encountered along the Missouri River centuries ago.”

The grizzly was captured Tuesday in a trap set near Swift Dam by Mike Hoggan of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services.

It was linked to 13 calf killings along Dupuyer and Sheep creeks northwest of Dupuyer.

After FWP and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel consulted, the bear was euthanized Wednesday.

“The state of Montana is not in any way interested in managing for cattle-killing grizzly bears,” Madel said.

The same bear was captured in mid-May west of Choteau at a cattle depredation site, Madel said.

At that time, it was not clear if the bear was responsible, so it was relocated to a new area 80 air miles away, Madel said.

It returned to the Rocky Mountain Front.

In the five months between captures, the bear gained 183 pounds, It weighed 540 pounds at the time of its death.

“It’s probably not unusual for a really good food year,” Madel said of the weight gain.

Grizzly bears hibernate for four to six months, Madel said.

During that period, when the rate of breathing and temperature slow, fat reserves help bears meet energy and fluid requirements, Madel said.

"The greater the fat reserves, the better they are able to make it through the entire hibernation period," Madel said.

For females, fat reserves also help with fetus development, he said. During poor food years, females have a more difficult time accumulating fat necessary to produce litters.

Fat also helps with muscle and bone development.

Another subadult bear that was captured south of Choteau Oct. 3 and relocated to Glacier National Park has not returned and remains “right in the middle of the park,” Madel said.

That radio-collared bear started to return to the Front but appeared to get lost after traveling in circles, Madel said.