POCATELLO - When a grizzly bear loses its fear of humans and starts to approach people, dwellings, or livestock, it is usually the beginning of the end. The bear may be captured and moved, but ultimately it will find some other form of conflict and wildlife managers will be forced to euthanize it for the safety of the public. A two-year-old female grizzly on the Shoshone National Forest, near the Pahaska Tepee Resort, probably would have met the same fate, if she were not luckier than the average bear. Fortunately for her, the Pocatello Zoo, one of the few zoos in the nation to specialize in housing native species, had just spent a little over a million dollars to create a new grizzly bear exhibit and had room to take her in.

Finding a zoo with adequate facilities to meet the rigid standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is no small tasks. Few zoos can make a commitment to the modern standards and long-term commitment required. According to Pocatello Zoo Superintendent Peter Pruett, "After a quarantine period of 30 days we will start to introduce the new bear to Stripes, our 29 year-old grizzly, who has been at the zoo for decades."

The placement of this bear is an example of the multi-agency cooperation that has gone into the recovery of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDFG) had worked with the Pocatello Zoo to obtain certification from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) as a facility certified to receive a grizzly bear. Christopher Servheen, USFWSGrizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator, then worked with all the agencies involved in grizzly recovery and management to keep an eye out for a bear involved in human-related conflicts that might be a candidate for the Pocatello Zoo. As the Wyoming Game & Fish Department (WGF) was dealing with the issue of a young grizzly that was increasingly becoming involved in situations too close to humans, WGY made the commitment to trap the bear and then transport it to Pocatello. Most bears involved in human-related conflicts are normally not so lucky.

When a grizzly is removed from a recovery area, it is counted as a loss to the population because it is no longer available to contribute to the gene pool. In the case of the Yellowstone Ecosystem, the population recovery goals have long been attained, so the loss of this bear will not harm the recovery. This bear is the seventeenth loss recorded this year, with the number of known and probably grizzly bear mortalities in the Yellowstone Ecosystem at its lowest point in recent years.

To learn more about grizzly bear recovery visit the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee website at:www.igbc-online.org.

Contact Gregg Losinski at 208-390-0635 for information