Bear cubs captured in August headed to zoo
Two black bear cubs that were captured Aug. 28 on the Montana Tech campus are on their way to a zoo for permanent placement.
The two cubs were placed at the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Wildlife Center in Helena following an incident in Butte where a female bear and her two cubs were known to be feeding on unsecured garbage around Butte's lower west side.
The mother and her cubs, now about 8 months old, were first seen in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, and the trio roamed throughout the lower west side, including West Elementary School, before ending up at Tech.
Their behavior had become habitual and presented a human safety concern and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials euthanized the adult bear due to its food-conditioned behavior.
According to the FWP news release, wildlife health staff observed garbage in the cubs' scat initially after capture, and the bears did not show fear of humans at any time during their holding period — clear indications that the young bears were comfortable around people and not good candidates for being released into the wild.
