Cattle-Eating Grizzly Finally Caught, Killed

A faded green “3” tattooed inside the grizzly’s upper lip confirmed Mike Madel’s suspicion.

The bear, believed to have killed at least four calves in one weekend just before his capture southwest of Augusta, was the same bear that had eluded Madel for 13 years, killed dozens of cattle worth up to $200,000 and gained notoriety as the “Falls Creek Male.”

The 22-year-old grizzly with a 15-year history of eluding traps and outsmarting everyone finally was captured on the LF Ranch earlier this month and killed April 18 at the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Park’s laboratory in Bozeman.

“What made him distinct is that most adult males who come into conflict are captured,” said Madel, a grizzly bear management biologist with the state agency. “This was a smart bear. He fed on natural foods, and then he supplemented it with livestock.”

The “3,” part of the Falls Creek Male’s number 346, was tattooed in 1985. The ink had begun to fade inside the 22-year-old bear’s mouth. But colored numbers to identify the bear with silver-tipped fur and a classic black hump were really only a formality.

Madel was called to the Falls Creek area in 1987 where a calf had been killed. A large, male grizzly was suspected.

A female bear had been responsible for kills in Falls Creek. But in the 1987 case it appeared 346 had picked up on his female counterpart’s bad habits.

The next kill was August 1987, and then another in September.

“Then it just went on and on,” Madel said.

David Nelson, wildlife biologist and district supervisor for USDA’s Wildlife Services, which traps livestock predators, suspects the Falls Creek bear’s cattle-killing career started as early as 1984. And Wildlife Services trappers agree the bear humbled them in many ways.

It was July 1988 after Madel responded to a kill in the Green Creek area when he confirmed what he suspected, a signature problem bear.

A snare was set, but the day after the kill, Madel only found a black bear caught in the trap.

“And I found big grizzly bear tracks, like he had walked all around this black bear,” Madel said.

He was a classic contradiction: a bear that kept himself tucked inside national forests, avoiding human contact, yet having an appetite for beef.

The USDA agency is responsible for investigating livestock kills involving wolves and grizzlies. After a kill is confirmed, officers are responsible for solving the problem, usually by removing or killing the predator.

Those who tracked the bear for the last 15 years admit the only reason the Falls Creek Male finally was captured was that he was getting old and slow.

The bear weighed in at 540 pounds in his post-hibernation slim state. From the tip of his nose to the end of his tail he measured 86 inches, and the circumference of his neck measured close to 3 feet. His upper canines were worn to nubs, and an infection was brewing in his lower jaw.

Tim Tew, manager of the LF Ranch, estimated that for the last 13 years, the Falls Creek bear cost him an annual $3,000 to $5,000. Nelson said the confirmed kills are likely only a small percentage of the grizzly’s actual kills.

If the losses reported by all ranchers are accurate, the Falls Creek bear cost them an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 since 1984, according to producer-reported losses.

Aune, who is now a wildlife research lab supervisor at FWP in Bozeman, trapped the bear in 1985 in a basin area near Table Mountain. He said it is never easy to put a bear down. But there was slim chance for success in simply relocating the bear.

For ranchers in the area, this is one less outlaw to worry about.

“Do you hear me laughing?” said rancher Don Converse, whose home base is four miles west of Augusta. “That bear has probably cost me $20,000.”

Converse said he saw the bear for the first time eight to 10 years ago. And the mythical bear had been a frequent and unwelcome guest, taking cows and calves.

“He wasn’t particular,” Converse said.

The bear is even suspected of taking the beef Converse planned to butcher for his own use a few years back.

But the Falls Creek Male wasn’t the worst, he said. The female, Bear 316, was the start of trouble. Bear 316 was the same female that led to the male grizzly’s only capture in 1985. The pair spent at least two years marauding.

“She taught him how to eat beef,” Converse said. “She taught a lot of other bears, too.”

Mike Gibeau, University of Calgary principal researcher for the eastern slopes grizzly bear research project, said bears learn by experience.

“Those bears that learn to kill cattle are not conducive to giving the bear population a good name,” he said. “He’s no longer an asset, he’s a liability.”

Relocating the bear wouldn’t have been a viable option, Madel said. Nor would capturing the bear and moving him to a zoo, added Gibeau.

“That would be a crime worse than euthanizing him,” he said. “Think of a human who has lived a long life and then relegating them to jail for their final days.”