By Terry Thompson, Regional Communications Manager
Monday, August 24, 2020 – 3:45 PM MDT

A mountain lion attacked and killed a horse near Hailey, Idaho while pastured in Croy Creek Canyon.

Blaine County Emergency Communications received a report in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 23, 2020 of a reported attack on a horse in the Red Elephant Gulch region of Croy Creek, west of Hailey, Idaho. Fish and Game officers investigated the report on Sunday morning, and with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, confirmed the older mare was killed by a mountain lion while on pasture grounds.

Traps have been set in an effort to locate the mountain lion responsible for the attack.

Residents are reminded to be vigilant for wildlife, such as mountain lions, throughout the Wood River Valley. While not a typical prey source, livestock is sometimes opportunistically taken by mountain lions.

Personal safety in mountain lion country
Mountain lions have been living in the Wood River Valley long before human development began. Most residents, even those who have lived there for years, have never observed one. However, we continue to hear from residents that they are now seeing these secretive cats as they pass through their neighborhoods. Some reports include sightings of lions during daylight hours, which is not typical behavior.

• Wildlife managers agree that if a person is in close proximity to a lion, meaning they see it, they should:
• NEVER run away from a mountain lion. The lion’s instinct is to chase and ultimately catch what they perceive as potential prey.
• NEVER turn your back on a lion. Always face them while making yourself look as large as you can. Yell loudly, but don’t scream. A high-pitched scream may mimic the sound of a wounded animal.
• SLOWLY back away while maintaining eye contact with the lion.
• Safety equipment you may choose to carry could include bear spray, a noise device, like an air-horn, and if you walk in the dark, a very bright flashlight.
• If you are attacked, fight back!

Remember to use all of your senses to detect if a mountain lion is near. Using a light to help you see your surroundings is very important, both in your yard, or as you walk in your neighborhood. If you run or bike for personal fitness, use caution when wearing headphones which take away your ability to hear if a lion, or any other wildlife, is giving you signals that you’re too close.

Report mountain lion sightings and encounters
Wood River Valley residents and visitors should immediately report any encounter that results in an attack to the Magic Valley Regional Office at (208) 324-4359 during business hours, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday. If after hours, local conservation officers can be reached by calling the Citizens Against Poaching (CAP) hotline at 1-800-632-5999.

Reports can also be made to the Blaine County Sheriff at (208) 788-5555.

Mountain lion sightings and observations should be reported to the Fish and Game, Magic Valley Regional Office at (208) 324-4359.

By Terry Thompson, Regional Communications Manager
Tuesday, August 18, 2020 – 1:54 PM MDT

Black bears in the Wood River Valley are getting food rewards from residential garbage containers, presenting a public safety risk when bears become food-conditioned.

Black bears, some with cubs, continue to find unsecured residential garbage throughout the Wood River Valley leading to food-conditioned bears. During the early morning hours of August 17, a large sow and cub were found in the Warm Springs area, with the sow gaining access to at least four unsecured garbage cans. Blaine County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a Fish and Game officer monitored the sow and cub throughout the early morning hours to encourage them to leave the neighborhood. Near daybreak, both bears wandered into the surrounding timber.

A residential garbage container became a source of food for a food-conditioned black bear in Ketchum

To help prevent black bears from becoming food-conditioned, it is the responsibility of every resident to secure their garbage in a garage or locked shed. Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw offered this advice to Ketchum residents, “These bears necessitate a change in our behavior. We urge all Ketchum residents, especially those in the Warm Springs neighborhood, to do their part by securing garbage overnight. It is our priority to keep our residents and visitors safe and our wildlife wild.”

While a bear learns quickly to associate a food-reward with a residential garbage can, it is extremely difficult to change that learned behavior. The solution is to never let a black bear learn that a garbage can is a place to find food. In the case of the Warm Springs bears, the cub is now learning the negative behavior of a food-conditioned bear. If garbage continues to be left out, and these bears are repeatedly rewarded with human-provided food, the Department may find it necessary to euthanize both bears if they become a threat to public safety. Relocation has been unsuccessful in most scenarios, and the cub is currently too young to survive without the sow.

“It’s pretty straight-forward” according to conservation officer Brandyn Hurd, “keeping residential garbage out of reach of a bear can significantly reduce the chances of a bear becoming food-conditioned. We all know the saying, a fed bear is a dead bear. Our goal continues to be keeping our bears wild by not allowing them to get a food reward from people.”

To keep Wood River Valley bears wild, remember these important steps:

• Keep all household garbage secured in a garage or other enclosed area.
• Put your garbage container curbside on the morning of pickup, NOT the night before.
• Leftovers or discarded fish or meat bones give off a strong odor and should be stored in your freezer until the day of garbage pickup.
• Keep attractants like B-B-Q grills, bird seed or pet food stored where bears cannot find them.
• Bird feeders should be taken down May through October or placed well out of reach of bears.

Your actions to keep food away from bears will keep you, your neighbors and your pets safe by not creating a food-conditioned bear.  Furthermore, it could help save the life of the bear.  Additional resources on how to eliminate attractants and keep bears wild can be found at: https://bearwise.org/bear-safety-tips/keep-bears-out/

For more information about how to live safely in bear country, contact your local Fish and Game office.

By Terry Thompson, Regional Communications Manager
Monday, August 3, 2020 – 4:04 PM MDT

A food-conditioned black bear had to be euthanized in the Wood River Valley after repeatedly getting food rewards from residential garbage containers, bird seed and beehives.

To protect public safety and private property Fish and Game had to euthanize a juvenile black bear on Monday August 3 that had become food-conditioned to residential garbage, bird feed, and honey from beehives. Reports of a bear getting into residential garbage in the East Fork area had been received by Fish and Game for the last several weeks. Over this time, the bear quickly learned that residential garbage and bird food is readily available, especially when natural food might be in short supply due to very dry conditions in south-central Idaho.

Conservation officers who investigated the reports observed residential garbage containers stored outside of homes and often left at curbside the day prior to pick-up, and bird feeders hanging around homes. A large number of beehives were also observed.

Bird feeders should be taken down, or moved out of reach of bears during summer and fall months.

Brandyn Hurd, Senior Conservation Office in the Ketchum area said, “After receiving reports of bears in the East Fork area we immediately contacted area residents and urged them to store their garbage containers in a secure area, like a garage, and to take down bird feeders which provide a steady food reward to bears. Unfortunately, this bear continued to receive a food reward from residential garbage containers and also learned that beehives can provide a high-calorie food source.”

Over the last several days, the bear damaged several beehives resulting in thousands of dollars of damage. After the initial incident, the owner took efforts to safe-guard hives by placing an electric fence around them. If installed properly, electric fences have been shown to be a very effective deterrent to bears; however, in this instance the bear was not adequately deterred from the area, likely due to the food-conditioning from multiple human sources.

Residents are strongly encouraged to store all residential garbage containers inside a garage or locked shed. Garbage containers should only be put out the morning of pick-up, not the night before. Unsecured garbage containers can also lead to other wildlife receiving a food reward, such as skunks and raccoons, which are prey to larger predators such as mountain lions.

Bears are extremely adaptable and can learn very quickly to associate people with food. The presence of unsecured food sources of human origin such as residential garbage, bird seed, dog food, beehives, domestic poultry, or fruit trees have long been documented as sources of human-bear conflicts. Food-conditioned bears can rapidly lose their fear of humans, resulting in bears approaching people. The outcome is that a once wild bear has now become a threat to human safety.

Leaving garbage or pet food unsecured can teach bears habits that ultimately put lives at risk of both humans and bears. A food-conditioned bear may get aggressive when they are not fed. Bears that frequent neighborhoods or communities because of the reliable source of unsecured garbage increases the chances of negative encounters with people or pets, and often results in bears being euthanized.

A popular and well-intentioned belief by many is that relocating bears is the best method to deal with food-conditioned bears. Repeated efforts across the western U.S. and Canada have shown that moving food-conditioned bears doesn’t often end as hoped, such as when a relocated food-conditioned bear quickly returns to the same location where it was originally trapped, or it continues to be a nuisance bear in their new location. And, the act of trapping and anesthetizing bears can put both the Fish and Game crew, as well as the bear, at risk.    

For more information about how to live safely around black bears contact your local Fish and Game office.