Grizzly bears will be waking up with spring just around the corner

Wyoming has had quite a year with its grizzly population and the on-again, off-again management hunt.

Right here in Hot Springs County we had three separate instances of grizzly activity during September of 2018.

On September 4, a grizzly was removed from the area due to multiple cattle kills. Just three days later, on September 7, another was removed from the Lost Lake area for killing cattle and the bear was taken to Teton County.

Five days later, on September 12, yet another grizzly was removed from Squaw Basin and relocated to Teton County because of cattle kills.

Right now, the grizzlies are in what is known as “torpor”. While we’ve always been taught bears hibernate during the winter, grizzlies are a bit different and that makes them a year-round danger.

During torpor, they are essentially asleep, but will wake immediately and quickly if disturbed, unlike animals who actually hibernate and will sleep through anything. In torpor, the grizzly’s heartrate is low, but its body temperature is high. Those in hibernation have low heartrates, too, but their body temperature drops to that outside their den to survive the winter.

There are only five grizzly populations in the lower 48 states: Greater Yellowstone, Northern Continental Divide, North Cascades, Cabinet-Yaak and the Selkink Mountains, all of which are contained in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

They can be found primarily in both the Shoshone and Bridger Teton National Forests, the Targhee National Forest and the Caribou and Gallatin National Forests, however, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has seen their population moving, coming down into the Wind River and Wyoming Ranges and even into the Owl Creek Mountains.

As far as population goes, at last count from Game and Fish, there are about 800 grizzlies in Montana, 600 in Wyoming and somewhere between 70-100 living in Idaho.

Statewide statistics from Game and Fish show in 2018 there were 53 grizzly incidents along with 59 capture events. That means that six of the bears were actually captured twice.

The department did 23 relocations during the year, most of which went into the Primary Conservation Area around Yellowstone.

Adult males were the biggest offenders at 22, followed by eight sub-adult males and five female adults.

It goes without saying, grizzly encounters are most common during the spring, summer and early fall, but if you are out hiking or cross county skiing in the winter, there is still a chance you could run across one.

Your best defense against grizzlies, or any bear, is the use of bear spray. Of course, just having bear spray isn’t enough, you should practice with it so you know the proper way to use it. Reading the directions as the bear is charging you is not the best idea.