An Idaho man was fortunate to have his shotgun shut at hand on June 6, when he needed to defend his girlfriend from a charging grizzly bear. The incident occurred simply outdoors their residence in Island Park, when the bear charged as they have been heading inside.
Officers with the Idaho Division of Fish and Sport investigated the incident, which they known as a “shock encounter” in a press release shared Tuesday. They decided that the person killed the bear “in defense-of-life,” which is permitted underneath Idaho regulation. IDFG regional communications supervisor James Brower tells Outside Life that the grizzly bear, a yearling male, died close to the roadway in entrance of the house. Brower says the person shot the bear as soon as with a load of buckshot was unable to supply many different particulars concerning the incident.
He provides that investigators didn’t discover any clues that might assist clarify why the bear charged. Grizzlies usually stick with their litter mates for a 12 months or extra after leaving the mom, so it’s doable that it had a sibling close by. Younger grizzly bears are additionally extra curious and vulnerable to inflicting hassle than older bears, that are extra accustomed to (and infrequently scared of) people.
“The person stated he and his girlfriend have been exiting their car and heading into the home when she screamed, drawing his consideration to a bear working in her route,” officers defined within the press launch. “The person was eradicating objects from the car, which included a shotgun that he was in a position to elevate and fireplace towards the bear, inflicting it to show and run away.”
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Island Park lies within the coronary heart of the Higher Yellowstone Ecosystem, which is considered one of six grizzly bear restoration zones established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Of these zones, the GYE is residence to the second-highest inhabitants of grizzly bears, simply behind the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in northwest Montana. Collectively, the 2 zones are residence to greater than 2,000 grizzlies, in response to the newest estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey. And though these populations are each rising and increasing, the species stays listed underneath the Endangered Species Act.
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The capturing on June 6 marks the second time {that a} grizzly bear has been killed in self-defense within the Decrease 48 in 2024. The first incident came about in late April, when a shed hunter in Montana shot a charging grizzly bear with a handgun. In that case, the bear was a 12-year-old sow defending its cub.
