POCATELLO — A young black bear that wandered into a south valley Pocatello neighborhood was captured and relocated to a remote habitat Sunday, according to Idaho Fish and Game.
Fish and Game received a report Monday of the bear in a residential backyard. Regional wildlife biologists David Dressel and Jon Dixon responded and found the bear climbing a fence and foraging on berries.
The bear was captured and released to a more suitable 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 this year’s severe drought has limited the availability of berries, nuts, roots and other vegetation, which make up roughly 90% of an Idaho black bear’s diet. While young bears typically stay with their mothers for at least a year before venturing out on their own, mother bears will sometimes push their young out earlier to reduce competition for food, Fish and Game said.
Fish and Game said the bear was not considered a “problem bear” — it hadn’t gotten into trash or human structures, hadn’t damaged property or harmed pets or livestock, and hadn’t threatened or become habituated to humans.
Even so, officials decided relocating the bear was in the best interest of public and animal safety given its proximity to homes and busy roadways.
Bear sightings within Pocatello city limits are rare, according to Fish and Game. The last one occurred in 2018, when a wild black bear made its way into Zoo Idaho.