KALISPELL – A grizzly bear injured
earlier this month when a bird hunter shot the animal in the eye was captured
near Ferndale on Wednesday and released in the Spotted Bear area, but only
after a Kalispell veterinarian removed the animal’s eyeball and treated an
infection.
About two weeks ago, a bird hunter shot
at the female grizzly in what was described as a surprise encounter east of
Bigfork, wildlife officials said. The hunter was unharmed and reported the
incident immediately to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The sow grizzly had a
cub and had previously been radio-collared, and both bears were spotted feeding
on a road-killed deer along the Swan River Road near Ferndale earlier this
week.
“The decision was made to capture the
bears and move them preemptively,” said John Fraley, an FWP spokesman, adding
that the bears’ proximity to humans concerned bear management specialists.
After the bears were captured, FWP
examined the adult bear and found that her left eye had been hit by birdshot.
FWP contacted Kalispell veterinarian Dan Savage and, after fully anesthetizing
the bear, he removed the remnant of the grizzly’s eye tissue, applied stitches,
and cleaned the wound, which had become infected. He also administered
antibiotics.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!