West Yellowstone, MT – Montana wildlife officials have confirmed that a female grizzly was shot and killed after breaking into a residence and stealing a container of dog food. In a press release, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Agency confirmed that the grizzly is the same bear involved in the fatal mauling of a woman near West Yellowstone in July.

On Saturday morning, the 10-year-old grizzly, and her cub, entered a residence through a window. Wildlife officials tracked and killed her later that night, capturing her cub who was nearby.

According to the news release, the cub is being held at FWP’s wildlife rehabilitation center in Helena while arrangements are made to transfer the cub to a zoo in the coming weeks.

The news release explains why officials chose to kill the grizzly:

The 10-year-old female grizzly had originally been captured in 2017 for research purposes. Through genetic analysis and other identifying characteristics, staff confirmed the bear was involved in a fatal attack on a woman near West Yellowstone in July. The bear was also involved in an encounter in Idaho that injured a person near Henrys Lake State Park in Idaho in 2020. Both incidents were evaluated carefully at the time and deemed to be defensive responses by the bear. Multiple efforts to trap and remove the bear were made after the fatal attack in July due to the incident’s proximity to residences, campgrounds, and high-use OHV trails. These efforts were unsuccessful.

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