At the direction of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Wyoming Game and Fish - Department captured and relocated an adult male grizzly bear July 22, 2020.

The bear was captured in association with livestock depredation on a U.S. Forest Service grazing allotment north of Pinedale, WY.  In cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Shoshone National Forest, the bear was relocated to the Mormon Creek drainage approximately five miles from the east entrance of Yellowstone National Park. 

Bears that are considered a threat to human safety are not relocated. Grizzly bear relocation is a management tool afforded to large carnivore biologists to minimize conflicts between humans and grizzly bears and is critical to the management of the population. When other options are exhausted or unattainable, Game and Fish will attempt to capture the bear. Once the animal is captured, all circumstances are taken into account when determining if the individual should be relocated or removed from the population. If relocation is warranted,  the selection of a relocation site is determined taking into consideration the age, sex, and type of conflict the bear was involved in as well as potential human activity in the vicinity of the relocation site. Consultation with the appropriate personnel and agencies occurs to minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the survival potential of the relocated grizzly bear. Bears that are deemed an immediate threat to human safety are not released back into the wild. 

Bears are relocated in accordance with state and federal law and regulation. Game and Fish continues to stress the importance of the public’s responsibility in bear management and the importance of keeping all attractants (food items, garbage, horse feed, bird seed, and others) unavailable to bears. Reducing attractants available to bears reduces human-bear conflicts.  For more information on grizzly bear management and reducing the potential for conflicts, please visit the Bear Wise Wyoming webpage.

For further information, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator, Hilary Cooley, at (406) 243-4903.