NY Times: Grizzlies Are Coming to Town. Can the West Live With Them?

 

Aries, an Anatolian shepherd, warily watches a stranger approach a pen where he and other members of his family — including eight fuzzy, 2-month-old puppies — roam alongside a grunting pig and several bleating goats.

Livestock guard dogs such as Aries are in demand in Montana these days, an important tool as the state deals with an increasing number of grizzly bears.

Anatolians — large, muscular dogs that originated in Turkey and were bred by shepherds — are extremely loyal and highly protective of those in their care, even against top predators.

“We have gray wolves, grizzly and black bears here,” said Natalie Thurman, owner of Apex Anatolians, whose pups go for $3,300 each. “We just had a grizzly bear in the creek a hundred yards from here.”

While she markets the dogs primarily to people who raise livestock, she also sells them to people with children. “They take them on hikes; they take them camping,” Thurman said. “They tell you when a bear is coming. I can replace livestock, but you can’t replace a human child.”

Grizzly bears are a daily concern for residents in the northern Rockies. The bears no longer live only in the remote high country, in parks, wilderness and surrounding areas. Instead, they have increasingly moved into the valleys and prairies to reclaim portions of their old realm.

They wander onto golf courses, break into homes, stalk chicken coops and raid cornfields. Montana is home to 2,100 grizzlies, by far the most in the lower 48 states, with much smaller populations mainly in Idaho and Wyoming...more