Sheridan – Game and Fish wildlife managers euthanized a young male black bear on July 4, 2022 after responding to a call on Presbyterian Road where it had accessed unsecured garbage. Personnel had responded to multiple reports of the blonde-colored bear in several areas of Story over the past two weeks and had tried unsuccessfully to trap it. The bear received multiple food rewards, including trash and bird feed, and more than one resident witnessed or captured security camera footage of the bear on their porches. Because it had repeatedly accessed attractants for many days, the decision was made to euthanize rather than relocate the bear.
Euthanizing a bear is the last resort for wildlife managers. But after a bear has repeatedly received food rewards, the bear’s behavior changes and it seeks out areas with humans, knowing that food can be found there, creating a human safety concern.
“We first received calls about bears causing conflicts in Story on June 17,” said Sheridan Wildlife Biologist Tim Thomas. “We responded to investigate incidents on Mountain Home Road and on Buck Trail Road. We saw many residences with bird feeders accessible to bears, including one home that had eight feeders within reach of a bear. Despite years of Bear Wise education in the Sheridan Region, there continues to be bear conflicts, as demonstrated by recent events. Unfortunately, given the proximity of our communities to native bear habitats, these types of conflicts will continue to occur unless bear attractants are secured.”
Bears can be attracted by trash, livestock feed, pet food, barbeque grills, fruit trees, backyard livestock, beehives and bird feeders – both seeds and hummingbird feeders. There are no municipal or county ordinances in Sheridan or Johnson counties requiring residents to secure attractants. However, when residents voluntarily secure or contain bear
