Hunter mistakenly shoots, kills grizzly bear in Bonner County
ERIC WELCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 2 weeks AGO
File photo
PRIEST LAKE — The Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported Monday that a hunter shot and killed a grizzly bear in Bonner County’s Priest Lake drainage May 9.
The hunter mistook the young female grizzly for a black bear and immediately self-reported when they realized their error. An Idaho Fish and Game investigation is ongoing.
Grizzly bears are federally protected as a “threatened” species in the contiguous U.S.; it’s illegal to kill grizzlies except in cases of self-defense.
Hunters legally pursuing black bears are required to identify their target before pulling the trigger, but due to similarities in characteristics, grizzlies are mistakenly killed every year.
In June 2023, a hunter accidentally killed a male grizzly bear north of Upper Priest Lake. Last June, a hunter who was tracking a bear near St. Maries shared a video of the animal with Idaho Fish and Game personnel, who told the hunter it was a black bear.
After the hunter shot the bear, they recognized it as a grizzly and reported the incident to Idaho Fish and Game staff, who confirmed the animal’s identity. No citation was issued.
According to Idaho Fish and Game, color and size are not reliable indicators when distinguishing grizzly bears from black bears. It’s best to examine multiple features before making a call. Grizzly bears typically have a prominent shoulder hump; 2-4-inch-long claws; and short, rounded ears.
A new statewide rule requiring black bear hunters to pass a bear identification test went into effect Jan. 1 this year.
North Idaho is one of few areas in the lower 48 in which grizzlies can reliably be found. Bonner County contains parts of the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones — two of six federally-designated ecosystems in which robust grizzly populations could be achieved through conservation efforts.
Some Idaho officials, along with officials from Montana and Wyoming, have pushed in recent years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist grizzly bears and lessen regulations surrounding the species.
In January, the federal agency reaffirmed the classification and proposed managing the species as a single population across Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington.
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