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<\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n BOZEMAN,\u00a0 Montana\u2013\u2013<\/strong>That \u201cA fed bear is a dead bear\u201d was reiterated on September 24 and 25,\u00a0 2026,\u00a0 near Bozeman,\u00a0 Montana,\u00a0 90 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.<\/p>\n Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks personnel killed 14 black bears,\u00a0 the agency disclosed,\u00a0 \u201cafter receiving a report that someone was illegally feeding the animals at a home north of the city,\u201d\u00a0 KBZK television news in Bozeman said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese bears were unafraid of humans and stopped relying on natural foods,\u00a0 which created a human safety risk,\u201d\u00a0 Montana game warden Josh Leonard told media.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cAn investigation into why the bears were on this property is ongoing,\u201d\u00a0 Leonard added.<\/p>\n Continued KBZK,\u00a0 \u201cWardens rescued one bear cub from the property. \u00a0That cub is now at a wildlife facility in Helena.\u00a0 Officials hope to place it in an accredited zoo. \u00a0They note that zoo placement is a very limited option and is not always possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks issued the usual warnings that state law,\u00a0 as in most states, \u201cstrictly bans providing supplemental feed to game animals,\u201d\u00a0 KBZK summarized,\u00a0 \u201curging everyone to keep garbage and pet food secured at all times. Bird feeders and other attractants must also be secured,\u201d\u00a0 KBZK reminded.<\/p>\n \u201cAuthorities recommend using bear-resistant trash cans and electric fencing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n But more is going on involving bear\/human conflict,\u00a0 both in the Rocky Mountains and in the Sierra Nevadas,\u00a0 and everywhere else in the U.S. and Canadian west with both bears and people.<\/p>\n Bears,\u00a0 both black bears and grizzlies,\u00a0 are also among the most prominent and vulnerable animal victims of drought driven by global warming.<\/p>\n \u201cA dry winter \u2014 followed by a late freeze in Montana \u2014 has left the animals short on natural foods like chokecherries, huckleberries, \u00a0and whitebark pine nuts. \u00a0So now, \u00a0as they load up on calories for winter, they\u2019ve become increasingly desperate, \u00a0venturing closer to people and aggressively dining on human garbage, \u00a0compost and, \u00a0in some cases, \u00a0the contents of people\u2019s pantries,\u201d\u00a0 wrote Nick Mott for High Country News<\/em> just before word of the Bozeman bear killings became public.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Bad as the plight of bears is in Montana,\u00a0 \u00a0it seems to be worse in Colorado.\u00a0 As of the end of August,\u00a0 Colorado wildlife wardens had killed 294 bears in 2026,\u00a0 relocating 98,\u00a0 three times as many \u201cnuisance\u201d bears as were killed and moved in 2025.<\/p>\n Colorado nuisance bear incident reports had increased from 3,680 in 2025 to 8,672 in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cIncidental feeding is one thing,\u201d\u00a0 mentioned Mott,\u00a0 after reviewing the many ways people accidentally feed bears with careless handling of garbage and bird-feeders,\u00a0 \u201cbut intentional feeding is another. \u00a0And, since the spring of 2025, \u00a0wildlife managers and residents [around Red Lodge,\u00a0 Montana] suspect that people are doing the latter.<\/p>\n <\/a> Bear biologist Lynn Leroy Rogers.<\/strong><\/em> \u201cAt a community forum that year,\u201d\u00a0 Mott recalled,\u00a0 \u201cone resident stood up with a pile of academic papers extolling the work of Lynn Rogers, \u00a0a controversial Minnesota bear biologist who hand-feeds and walks with bears. \u00a0Rogers advocates for something called \u2018diversionary feeding\u2019 \u2014 the notion that feeding bears near populated areas can keep the animals out of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n (See Bad for bears, people, & their wallets: the myth of \u201cdiversionary feeding\u201d<\/a>)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The myth of diversionary feeding has been refuted for as long and as thoroughly as the self-perpetuated and scientifically illiterate myths of anti-vaxxers.<\/p>\n Nonetheless,\u00a0 people tend to like to see bears,\u00a0 easier to do when baiting the bears into view;\u00a0 tend to empathize with hungry bears,\u00a0 who in preparation for winter need to consume as many calories per day as 20 average-sized people;\u00a0 and tend to be easily lulled into imagining hungry bears are just big teddies,\u00a0 as harmless as Yogi and Boo Boo.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n People also tend to believe that having their dogs with them on a hike,\u00a0 or in their yards when at home in bear country,\u00a0 will keep bears away.<\/p>\n Jeff and Mallory Wilson of rural Trinity County,\u00a0 California found out otherwise the hard way at about 4:00 a.m. on September 19,\u00a0 2026,\u00a0 San Francisco Chronicle<\/em> staff writer Aidin Vaziri reported.<\/p>\n The Wilsons survived.\u00a0 Their French bulldog Cassie did not.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to their friend Marika Judi Graham,\u201d\u00a0 Vaziri wrote,\u00a0 \u201cJeff let Cassie outside after the dog woke him with a bark. When he went back out to let her inside, \u00a0a black bear charged him, knocking him into the side of the house and breaking two ribs.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n \u201cThe bear continued to bite and claw Jeff. \u00a0Cassie then went after the bear.<\/p>\n \u201cMallory woke to what Graham described as Jeff and Cassie screaming and ran outside,\u201d\u00a0 Vaziri continued.\u00a0 \u201cShe found the bear holding Cassie in his mouth while Jeff was on the ground, \u00a0injured and bleeding.<\/p>\n \u201cMallory grabbed a piece of patio furniture and struck the bear in an effort to free the dog, \u00a0according to the account.<\/p>\n \u201cGraham said the bear then attacked Mallory, \u00a0knocking her down and grabbing her by the back of the head before fleeing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wilsons escaped with \u201cbroken ribs, \u00a0bite and claw wounds, \u00a0lacerations, \u00a0and neck injuries, \u00a0according to a GoFundMe fundraiser organized by another longtime friend, Rachel Moscon,\u201d\u00a0 Vaziri detailed.<\/p>\n <\/a> (Beth Clifton photo)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n Some dogs,\u00a0 like Cassie,\u00a0 will charge a bear to protect their person.\u00a0 Most will not.<\/p>\n Dogs bred and trained to hunt bears,\u00a0 as a pack,\u00a0 will corner and hold a bear, \u00a0but will not actually engage with the bear,\u00a0 if they can avoid it, \u00a0until the hunter with the rifle gets there.<\/p>\n More typical dog behavior around bears will include a bluff charge,\u00a0 then a high-speed retreat back to their person, \u00a0who to the dog means safety,\u00a0 often with the infuriated bear right behind.<\/p>\n Explained Sam Anderson for Outside<\/em> on August 13,\u00a0 2026,\u00a0 \u201cTom Smith, a wildlife biologist with Brigham Young University, \u00a0has worked with bears since the early 1990s. \u00a0A 2026 study he led, published in The Journal of Wildlife Management<\/em>, \u00a0found that the odds of a bear conflict for hikers with a pet dog \u2018more than doubled\u2019 compared to those without.<\/p>\nFourteen bears killed near home where occupant was allegedly feeding them<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cWardens rescued one bear cub\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nVictims of drought<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nWorse in Colorado<\/h2>\n
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(Beth Clifton collage)<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\nLynn Rogers<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nDogs are no help<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u201cThe bear continued to bite and claw\u201d<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\nBear dogs vs. most dogs<\/h2>\n