LINCOLN — Residents are keeping a close eye on three juvenile grizzly bears they say have repeatedly moved through the community in recent weeks, in some cases, leaving damage behind.
WATCH Madison Collier's report below:
Sightings have become a regular topic of conversation around town and on the Lincoln Live Facebook group, where residents have shared updates about where the bears have been seen.
Though for longtime Lincoln resident Zach Muse, seeing a bear around town is not necessarily anything unusual.
“People need to know that we live in bear country,” Muse said. “And just because you don't see them, they're here. They're constantly here.”
However, he said, what has caught residents' attention recently is the trouble associated with the bears as they’ve stayed close to the community.
“The grizzly bears generally, people see them, and they're just cutting across town,” Muse said. “They're going from the mountains to the river, vice versa. Rarely do we ever have a grizzly problem in town.”
Some residents have experienced that activity firsthand.
Beth Allen recently moved back to the town and said the bears have repeatedly visited her property. First, she said, they had gotten into her grain, which was stored inside a vehicle.
“They broke out the window, ate all the grain, and tore the seats up, biting at the seats,” she said.
Following that, Allen was provided a bear-resistant container, but they returned again. She said during that visit, the bears had gotten her flock of 14 chickens.
“After I ran them off, they came back the next night and decimated my chickens,” Allen said. “They did that in two different nights.”
Muse said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has placed traps on the south side of Lincoln and has been communicating with residents about the sightings. He also pointed to efforts to provide bear-resistant garbage cans and other resources to help residents reduce attractants around their properties.
“They're doing pretty good on trying to reach out to folks and mitigate anything they can,” he said. “Keep your place clean. Put your food up. They eat everything. And they eat anything.”
The activity comes as bears across Montana are entering a time of year when they spend more time searching for food.
Greg Lemon, head of the Communication and Education Division for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said bears enter a phase known as hyperphagia as they work to put on weight before winter.
“They spend more of their time roaming for food, looking for food, exploring for food,” he explained.
Lemon said natural food sources have also been limited this year, including fewer berries, and FWP has seen an increase in bear conflicts around the state involving unsecured attractants such as garbage and pet food.
That makes securing those attractants particularly important heading into fall.
FWP recommends keeping garbage secured until collection day, bringing pet food inside and using electric fencing around things such as chicken coops.
“It really is something that we are trying to help communities and neighborhoods take that community approach with,” Lemon said. “Because the easiest way to deal with a bear issue is not to have one in the first place.”
Residents experiencing bear conflicts can contact their local FWP regional office for help. For situations requiring an immediate response, FWP recommends calling 911.
