Grizzly bear killed Sunday night

A grizzly bear was shot and killed at an elk ranch north of Interstate 90 near Rose Lake on Sunday night, according to information received from Idaho Fish and Game. The bear was harassing penned elk when a man discovered the bruin and shot it, reported Chip Corsi, IFG regional supervisor. Corsi went on to say he believes the incident was a case of mistaken identity, and the rancher fired at the grizzly thinking it was a black bear. “It was after dark when the bear was getting into the pen,” Corsi said. “I don’t think he had a good look at it.” IFG identified the dead bear as a grizzly — an endangered species under federal protection — and transported it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Spokane on Monday morning, Corsi said. While black bears are numerous in the forests surrounding the Silver Valley, grizzly bears are a definite rarity. Corsi said the animals do live to the north, in both Idaho and Montana, but finding one near Rose Lake was a surprise for Fish and Game personnel. “That’s probably the first grizzly [in the region] that has been positively identified in, and I’m just guessing here, half a century,” Corsi said. “Your chances of seeing a grizzly bear in the Rose Lake area are slim to none.”...SoshoneNewsPress