Idaho Fish and Game relocated a young black bear after it was found in the backyard of a home in Pocatello on Monday morning.
Regional wildlife biologists David Dressel and Jon Dixon responded to the home and found the bear climbing a fence and eating berries. They captured the bear and released it in a remote location.
“We can’t be sure how or why this black bear found its way to this Pocatello neighborhood, though it is possible it had worked its way along the Portneuf River corridor as it foraged for food,” Dressel said.
Fish and Game said severe drought years like this year limit available food resources, including berries, nuts, roots and other vegetation, which make up roughly 90% of an Idaho black bear’s diet. Young bears usually remain with their mothers for at least a year before venturing out on their own, but Fish and Game says mother bears sometimes push their young out earlier to reduce competition for food.
Fish and Game decided to capture and release the bear based on a variety o factors. The bear was not eating trash or getting into human structures, had not caused damage to pets or livestock, and had not threatened or become habituated to humans. However, Fish and Game said its proximity to homes and busy roads made relocation away from town the best choice for the bear’s and public’s safety.
Fish and Game said reports of bears within Pocatello city limits are rare. The last report came in 2018, when a wild black bear made its way into Zoo Idaho.