News
Black bear lethally removed in Sheridan
Published
1 year agoon
The Wyoming Game and Fish Sheridan Regional Office has announced a sub-adult female black bear was lethally removed in Sheridan on Sunday, July 30, after a prior relocation effort failed.
At approximately 11:30 a.m. on July 30, Game and Fish personnel responded to a report of a black bear in Downer Addition near 17th and Hickory streets. The bear was located in the apple tree of a residence and immobilized. The bear was marked with numbered ear tags, indicating it had been involved in a previous conflict situation.
According to the department, personnel reviewed information provided by the tags and learned the bear had been captured and relocated from North Heights Lane on July 6. At that time, the bear was accessing unsecured garbage in the subdivision. It was immobilized and relocated to a remote area of the Bighorn Mountains.
“It is disappointing that the relocation effort was not successful,” said Sheridan Region Wildlife Coordinator Tim Thomas. “Despite relocating bears to suitable habitat a significant distance away, they sometimes make dedicated efforts to get back to where they have received food in the past and expect to find more. In this case, the bear traveled at least 42 miles in just over three weeks and ended up about a half-mile from where it was initially captured.”
Relocation is more successful when a bear has had limited time to access human provided attractants. This makes it important for the public to call the Game and Fish Department as soon as a conflict occurs.
Any sightings of a bear in residential or developed areas should be reported as soon as possible to the Game and Fish Regional Office at 307-672-7418 during regular business hours, to the Stop Poaching hotline at 877-WGFD-TIP or to a local law enforcement agency.
Bill Sweem
July 31, 2023 at 7:18 pm
That’s sad for sure, but the professional officers and biologists are doing what they are trained for. To protect and serve.
Jim jurosek
July 31, 2023 at 8:44 pm
Sheridan kills quite a few bears. And cant seem to come up with any creative or imaginative solutions to the problem.
Mary Mastick
August 1, 2023 at 9:00 am
They’re very dedicated to trying to relocate habituated wild life and follow strict protocol. There isn’t a creative or imaginative solution when humans and wild animals are in close proximity. This is what it looks like to keep a tradgedy involving a child or escalating event from happening.
Lydia Carter
August 1, 2023 at 5:06 pm
Stronger efforts should be made to prove t the bears. The article states “Sheridan kills many bears”!
I think in this day age age there needs to be safety for the bears as well. Maybe bear proofing the garbage areas? Maybe relocating farther away?. The bears have a mother nature, god created the right for wild life to live successfully in the wild. Stop encroaching into there territory!!
Yvonne Busse
August 3, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Living in close proximity to wildlife here in the Sheridan area I can tell you that a portion of the problem involves the influx of people moving into the bear habitat. Our Game and fish management officials do a job second to none balancing wildlife concerns with population !
Linda L Ryczek
August 4, 2023 at 2:44 am
I no longer live in Sheridan area, but we, my husband and I do plan to return soon. My husband is a resident of Sheridan, Wyoming. I love Wyoming, and I love the people of Wyoming, and especially I am fond of the people of Sheridan, Story, and buffalo. But…I sincerely and fully agree with Lydia Carter, and Jim Mastick…there must be a better way to preserve the life of these bears, rather than just kill them. I have several suggestions to propose here in regard to the problem: Try relocating the bears further away than a mere 42 miles, which was stated in the article of the distance that the bear had traveled to get back to the place near where she was picked up from. Try locating the bear further away..like perhaps several hundred miles, perhaps 500 to 1000 miles, and further up in northern country, where mountains and forests are more thicker. Also try finding out of the female bear has any cubs, and find the cubs, and relocate them with their mother bear. That might be one of the reasons the bear returns to where she was removed from. Perhaps the female bear is a mother to possible cubs hidden away, who she is hunting food for, or perhaps, not hunting food for, but still possible a mother, returning to locate her cubs, or possible she is pregnant with cubs-to-be. I am just guessing, I really do not know anything about bears, other than I feel they are a vital importance to the Eco-system and their lives are just as valuable as human life. It is my feelings that Sheridan Game and Fish was and are too quick to kill a wild animal for various reasons. Yes, there is a great need to protect the lives of humans from injury and / or death from the wild animals who wander into human habitats. However, the animals were here first, and this land is their home. They do not know any better. If free food was available to us humans, I think most of us would take advantage of obtaining the free food…if it was any good. Sadly, this bear thought that the food in the trash dumpster was pretty good, and that got her killed. The article did not state the bear had threatened anyone, or harmed anyone, or harmed any other domestic or stock animal. The article stated the bear was basically just a garbage digger. Put the blame where it really belongs, among the irresponsible humans, and hold them accountable for the problem. This problem is not the bears fault. This problem is the humans fault. The city of Sheridan and Game and Fish needs to set up an Ordinance law that all people at all residences, and all business owners, at all business locations, must be provided wild life proof / bear proof trash dumpsters by the city trash companies, (billed as part of the service), and that ordinance law is decreed that all trash must be disposed of in the wild life / bear proof trash dumpsters, and IF residents and or businesses dispose trash, especially food items in non wild life proof / non bear proof trash containers, barrel, or at any other place where wild animals / bears can get into and obtain said improperly disposed of foods/trash, then said resident and or business owners will be provided citation for violation of not utilizing wild life proof / bear proof garbage dumpsters. Each additional violations, or lack of response to any notices of violations within a specified time period will increase the fines to equal the full cost of eliminating, and / or relocating bears, and plus jail time and community service to work in some capacity to assist the Fish and Wildlife Agency at the decree of the courts, regarding time and length of community service, citation of violation fines, and jail time. This is just my thoughts and suggestions. Also, this was a ‘female’ bear that Game and Fish decided they had to “…lethally removed…” (“…lethally removed…” = just a nicer sounding and lesser violent way to say ‘killed’) the bear. Also, the adult bear being a female, would had likely produced cubs during the seasonal birthing of bear cubs, OR, perhaps the female bear had cubs somewhere, and now killing the female bear, might have also likely put her bear cubs in danger, and or caused the cubs death. Either way, there should be taken into consideration of the destruction of causing a decrease of bear life, and therefore accounting calculations should be done to determine the citation fines in not only in regards to the bear’s reproduction ability, but also in consideration to the number of cubs could be birthed each season, and also not only female bears and cubs, but also to take into the accounting the affects of all bear removal, both female, male and cubs. Consideration of, and accounting that must be taken in regard of all the tasks involved in bear removal, and all costs. This is my opinion, and my suggestions, of how the city of Sheridan, and Game and Fish Agency could collect additional funds to support the extra work tasks involved because the violators (humans) do not utilize wild life proof trash dumpsters / bear proof trash dumpsters, and who do not consider the cause and effect upon the Eco-system, and the economic repercussions caused, due to said violations. Thank you for reading and considering my suggestions of proposal.