"This bear was killed because of the food it had obtained in campgrounds," said Jim Williams, wildlife manager for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "This grizzly bear learned that it could obtain food in campgrounds and became emboldened by it."
Emboldened enough to approach a dog and two campers - one wielding an ax - along the shores of Hungry Horse Reservoir in the last days of June.
Instead, the bear ignored them, contenting himself with smashing their Doritos into tiny chips.
The 2-year-old male grizzly had no previous history of trouble, but in the past two weeks had ambled into four different campsites along the reservoir.
After crushing the Doritos, he hit a camp on July 1 in the Murray Bay Campground. The next day, he was in the Emery Bay Campground, where he was run off by dogs before returning for a crack at a cooler strapped to a four-wheeler.
The next day, he was back again, this time in the Lid Creek Campground, where he ignored the protestations of campground hosts and ransacked dog food and several coolers.
Grizzly bear specialist Tim Manley caught up with him there, darting and tranquilizing the 145-pound bruin Thursday.
After talking with campers and campground hosts, wildlife officials decided to haul the bear to Bozeman, where a veterinarian at a wildlife laboratory administered a lethal injection over the weekend.
The bear, officials said, had simply been allowed to become too bold, and they expressed frustration that they had not been called sooner. Wildlife officials have a long track record of successfully hazing bears away from human food sources if the bears are nabbed early enough in their pilfering career.
"It is always regrettable to have to remove a bear under these circumstances," Williams said.
Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7816 or at mjamison@missoulian.com
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