Lincoln Grizzly Bear Mount on Display as Part of Living in Bear Country Event

The mount of an 830-pound male grizzly bear struck and killed by a pickup truck near Lincoln last fall will be on display at the Hooper Park Pavilion in Lincoln on Saturday, July 5 from 9am-5pm as part of a living in bear country display.

The bear hide was displayed for the first time June 26-28 at Lincoln Community Hall while taxidermists worked on the mount, but Saturday’s event will be the first showing of the full, finished mount.

Other Saturday activities include a bear aware trailer with full-body mounts of black and grizzly bears; a display of wildlife skulls, hides, and track casts; information about bear identification, safety and bear management; and more information on the history of the Lincoln grizzly.  

Staff from the U.S. Forest Service Lincoln Ranger Station, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), Blackfoot Challenge, and Center for Wildlife Information (CWI) will be on hand to answer questions and provide information on bears.

The 12-year-old bear was killed by a truck in October 2007 near Lincoln.   Shortly afterwards, area residents, including school children from Lincoln, Ovando and Seeley Lake, began writing letters and voicing support for the bear to be displayed in Lincoln where it spent the last years of its life.

The bear will stay in Lincoln at the USFS office alongside an educational display on bear identification, safety and conservation.   The display and supporting materials are not finished yet, but are being developed as part of a cooperative effort between the Blackfoot Challenge, FWP, USFS and CWI  

For more information, contact the Blackfoot Challenge’s Education Program Coordinator, Nancy Schwalm, at (406) 362-3077.

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