Roaming grizzly moved from Cody

Wyoming Game and Fish wardens trapped and relocated a sub-adult female grizzly bear last Saturday.

The bear was frequenting a residential area near a housing development along the South Fork of the Shoshone River southwest of Cody, Wyoming. To reduce the potential for future conflicts, the bear was relocated to the Fall River drainage approximately 20 miles northwest of Moran, Wyoming.

The agency has a standard practice for dealing with bears that come into conflict with humans:

“Bears that are considered a threat to human safety are NOT relocated. Grizzly bear relocation is a management tool afforded to large carnivore biologists to minimize conflicts between humans and grizzly bears and is critical to the management of the population. When other options are exhausted or unattainable, Game and Fish will attempt to capture the bear. Once the animal is captured, all circumstances are taken into account when determining if the individual should be relocated or removed from the population. If relocation is warranted, the selection of a relocation site is determined taking into consideration the age, sex, and type of conflict the bear was involved in as well as potential human activity in the vicinity of the relocation site. Consultation with the appropriate personnel and agencies occurs to minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the survival potential of the relocated grizzly bear. Bears that are deemed an immediate threat to human safety are not released back into the wild.”