Grizzly Bears Location(s) (Missoula, Great Falls: for sale, coop, home)

[Six Foot Three]

I know Montana has Grizzlies especially by the corner near Yellowstone but just wondering are they all around the Mountain Ranges across the state or just in certain areas. Do i need to take a .30-06 when ever going camping in the National Forests or are most areas safe from them.....

[rambrush]

We had a surprise a year or so back, just below our property on Mill Creek someone had shot and killed a grizzly.

They left it laying there. This was south Of Anaconda, they believe it was traveling from Yellowstone - Glacier National Park.

So yes they may not inhabit your particular area but may use it to get back and forth.

[MHT]

My Dad was a wildlife biologist in MT. We have seen Grizzlies from Yellowstone through Glacier. We lost calves to grizzlies when we lived nw of Great Falls and summer pastured our cattle up out of Depuyer, Augusta, Choteau.

[montana_molly]

Harry O said "I know Montana has Grizzlies especially by the corner near Yellowstone but just wondering are they all around the Mountain Ranges across the state or just in certain areas. Do i need to take a .30-06 when ever going camping in the National Forests or are most areas safe from them....."

We have a cabin 30 miles out of the Yellowstone Park. We personally have not seen the grizzly, but our neighbors have. They saw one ambling across the association we live on. For the most part, they will try to stay away from people; however, we are encroaching more and more on their turf, so sightings are become more frequent.

It's a personal judgment call whether you carry a gun or not. And if you do, #1- it'd better be high powered or you'll just make him mad; and #2 - you had better be able to prove it was charging you; the fines are HUGE for killing one. When you're camping, there are rules to follow regarding food that will help to insure your safety; and don't wear a shirt to bed that you were cooking in if it's grease spattered.

My kids are fifth generation Montanans; we've camped out our whole lives; and we've never encountered a Grizzly - a moose has been in our camp - but not a grizzly. But, I might add, it's been a concern to me at times.

[Six Foot Three]

Good advice Montana Molly as i appreciate it. Also to MHT and Rambrush just to let you all know i and my family appreciate the answers as we read them all......

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Brown bears, black bears, grizzlies, it doesn't make a difference.

Bears are just that... Bears.
Creatures of opportunity they are, and they can be found all across the state of Montana. A great many mountainous regions in Idaho and Washington has bear populations as well.

When I was a youngster, we used to visit up Libby way, to my uncle's place, and we used to make a game of how many bears we could trap in a dumpster on any given day.
We would wait until the bear climbed into the dumpster, and then sneak up from behind and slam the lid down, all the while, piling on top to hold the lid down.... well, needless to say, it was a fun game, at least until my Dad found out about it.

We weren't especially keen on the danger, because there were bears everywhere.. even in town on some occasions.

It doesn't make much of a difference really, bears are dangerous, no matter what kind they are or, where they are found.
They usually do a pretty good job of avoiding us humans, but then there are those times when a 300 pound sow simply can't resist the dog food stored in the back end of a pick up truck on one of those family camping trips.
(or the marshmallows intended for the deer thrown on the ground from my wife, who happens to be from Texas)..... we'll give Mrs. GiftShoppeGuy a break, as clearly she didn't know any better at the time.

If you like the woods, any woods, in Montana, Oregon, Washington, Idaho.... your chances of meeting a bear will be increased.

Pepper spray and a great deal of noise usually drives them away. No sense in packing iron to the mountains unless you are going there for the expressed purpose of killing something.

Fines are very high in this state for killing "any bear".

There is no such thing as a safe bear......... well, unless of course, the bear was found to be living and playing ball in Chicago.

A historical note on Grizzlies:

Grizzly bears are not native to the mountains.
They are creatures of the plains initially, and were found ranging from the eastern slope of the Rockies clear to St Louis Missouri.

Elk and deer were also indiginous to the plains, just like the bears were.

Lewis and Clark made mention of the Grizzlies in their journals.
50 caliber Kentucky Long Rifles couldn't stop them really, and Lewis and Clark's team were chased into the middle of the river by them.

[ladyflyfsh]

I had a bear (1 year old cub) in my yard a few years ago in October. The odd thing was he would have had to cross the Jefferson River to get here. Not the kind of thing you expect to see or ever see for that matter, here on the river bottom where I live. We had a stare down and it chickened out and ran away. I was in fear of my chickens just over the fence from where the bear was, so I locked them in their coop and made noise so the bear would get scared and run off. The thing you have to worry about is when they don't get scared and run off. A normal bear will do just that, but occasionally a bear will get bold and you can't scare it and that is when they become very dangerous. I never saw him...or her again.

[mark6052]

If your that scared of a bear contact, dont come. you dont have a right to pack a rifle around for "bear" protection, check the state laws. the truth if your walking ready to shoot youll probably shoot somebody you shouldnt. or pee yerself at the sight of one. the odds are very, very slim to see a grizz. make alittle noise and dont travel alone, you wont have a problem. wouldnt want to ruin your outdoor "experience".

[VoniBear]

I grew up with the wilderness as my back yard, up the Blackfoot Valley, NE of Missoula. I have 11 acres and a home coming up on the market for sale, in the Potomac Valley. I have had face on encounters with bears and close encounters with grizzlies in the 'Bob' - Bob Marshall Wilderness, and lived to tell about it. But, with the grizzlies placed on the endangered species list, they have multiplied beyond expectation - which is why they are now being considered for removal from the endangered species list. Of course, with the multiplication of grizzlies and people in Western Montana, there are naturally more people/bear encounters. I sincerely doubt from the sounds of the initial post, that you will be placing yourself in any areas where you might actually run into a griz, so don't worry. For the rest of us who do frequent the high mountain wilderness, just remember - they are out there in more numerous numbers than a few years ago, and they are only doing what is natural to them, looking for food sources. If you look like a food source, they just might decide to have a taste! :-) I've since moved to Wyoming. I thought we had bears in Montana!!! And snakes and wind and . . . and yet I LOVE it here! It is more like what Montana used to be 30 years ago!

[grannymontanny]

we see black bear regularly in the flathead,but have yet to see a grizzley altho i know there are some. my sister gets the black bear right on her deck.my dogs keep them chased away. heres one that the dogs ran up a tree
Care2 - Photos - treed bear3.jpg