Grizzly Bear Dies Unexpectedly At FWP Wildlife Center

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A young sow grizzly bear headed for a captive facility in Canada died unexpectedly of heart failure at the Montana Wildlife Center in Helena following an operation to spay the animal. The 235-pound female grizzly was operated on by a team of veterinarians and wildlife technicians and died during recovery at the center on Oct. 24, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials said.

The eighteen-month-old bear arrived at the Wildlife Center in August with its male sibling after a series of conflicts at a northwestern Montana campsite and nearby residence. The bears also spent part of 2003 at the Wildlife Center after their mother was euthanized following several forays onto a Flathead Valley ranch. The two young bears were successfully placed in dens last winter and remained in the wild until the August incidents.

Officials initially planned to euthanize both bears but found a facility in British Columbia willing to take the pair.   FWP and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed that the bears could be sent to the facility if they would not be used for reproduction and properly permitted under the CITES Act, which regulates international trade in endangered species.   The spay operation was conducted to prevent inbreeding between the two siblings, who were to stay together, as well as prevent breeding with other bears.

The male grizzly bear did not undergo an operation and is expected to be sent to the British Columbia facility in November.