https://www.spokesman.com/stor...ls-grizzly-in-idaho/



Hunter faces charges after killing grizzly in Idaho in apparent mistake


UPDATED: Fri., Sept. 20, 2019, 9:04 p.m.


By Eli Francovich

elif@spokesman.com
(509) 459-5508

Know your bears

It’s vital that black bear hunters know the difference between grizzly bears and black bears.

Grizzly bears have a hump above their shoulders, short rounded ears, long claws and, when seen in profile, a dished face.

Black bears have no shoulder hump, tall pointed ears, shorter claws and, when seen in profile, a straight face.

For more information, including an online identification test visit: wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/requirements/bear-identification-testing



A Montana hunter killed a grizzly bear in North Idaho on Tuesday, after apparently mistaking the endangered bruin for a more common black bear.

The man has been charged in state court for killing the grizzly, according to Kara Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

The hunter was in the Smith Creek area near the Canadian border, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. After shooting the bear, the man identified it as a grizzly and called IDFG.

The Smith Creek drainage is northwest of Bonners Ferry, near the Porthill border crossing. Black bear hunting is open in that area until Oct. 31.

The grizzly was an adult female and had been collared, said Wayne Kasworm, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator.

She did not have any cubs, Kasworm said.

Grizzly bears are protected under state and federal law. Idaho’s black bear hunting season starts at the end of August. Black bear hunters are expected to know the difference between legal black bears and grizzly bears before shooting.

IDFG is investigating, and the man is cooperating.


Reports of accidental shootings are common. A hunter in Wallace shot and killed a grizzly bear that had been collared and relocated to Montana in October 2015. A grizzly bear was shot and killed near Rose Lake in 2009. Both were cases of mistaken identity.

Last year, a female grizzly with cubs was shot multiple times in an apparent poaching at Spruce Lake, in northern Boundary County.

That case is still under investigation, Kasworm said.

Many human-caused grizzly deaths go unreported. According to one review of grizzly mortality between 1982 and 2017, 17 radio-collared bears died from human causes in the Cabinet-Yaak recovery area. Of those, 10 deaths were reported by the public and seven were not.

According to a 2018 Canadian study, about 88 percent of human-caused grizzly deaths go unreported.

So far this year, regional bear-human encounters and conflicts are down from previous years.

“It’s a good huckleberry year. The bears are up in the huckleberries and not down in the valleys as much,” Kasworm said. “We’ll see, though. This is the time when things start to pick up a little bit as well. Once the huckleberries run their course, there is more opportunity for bears to mix it up with people.”

That tough. Yes the responsibility lies with the hunter to know which kind of bear he is shooting but sometimes mistakes can happen and this guy was up front and reported his mistake to proper authorities who will now in all probability prosecute him to no end. He could in all likely hood pay a higher price than someone who is a murderer or a DUI offender. Sad.

I agree BH1, hunter will probably pay more than DUI offender...kinda crazy
And that is why I only hunt bears in Idaho over bait, that way there is no chance to make mistake unless I get charged

Usually when you turn yourself in for game violations they rack you.

huckleberry's are usually dried out and on the ground and totally done by Sept 1.
mid-august is really pushing things in most places, and anything on the open slope looks like raisins 2-3 weeks before that.

Does seem that State Wildlife Officers put in writing that if you accidentally kill something you are not licensed for, turn yourself in, and they will look at the circumstances and you won’t be charged if the accident was done in good faith.

They then charge the hell out of you.

BH63

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
Does seem that State Wildlife Officers put in writing that if you accidentally kill something you are not licensed for, turn yourself in, and they will look at the circumstances and you won’t be charged if the accident was done in good faith.

They then charge the hell out of you.

BH63

Yessir. That's a tough one!

Most of us were raised to do the "right" thing but it sounds like it might get pretty costly for this guy doing the "right" thing.

It's true, the hunter bears the ultimate responsibility to make sure before a bullet is loosed.

Zeke

quote:

Many human-caused grizzly deaths go unreported.

If you inadvertently shot an animal that you should not have killed, and knew you would be fined ten thousand dollars if you turn your self in, would you do it?
The probable answer may be in the lead-in quote.

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
Does seem that State Wildlife Officers put in writing that if you accidentally kill something you are not licensed for, turn yourself in, and they will look at the circumstances and you won’t be charged if the accident was done in good faith.

They then charge the hell out of you. BH63

Well perhaps the officers, after their investigation, determined that the "accident" was not done "in good faith". They then did their job by filing charges. Charges do not mean they don't sympathy for the hunter. Charges do not equal guilt. The hunter is still entitled to a trial where a judge and/or jury will determine guilt and, if guilty, what the fine may be.

Just because some reporter calls it a "mistake" does not make it so. I hope we get to hear the facts sooner than later.