Grizzly Bear Range - Where R They?

[Prerylyon]

Ok, so I love the Western mountains and hunting the Rockies. But I'm a rookie (been out a few times) and a wuss.

Is there a simple map or 'rule of thumb' to use to determine where these big bears that could eat me reside? I know the Yellowstone area has them. Was told they are not in the Bighorns or Black Hills or down in CO.

Educate me.

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[mntnguide]

Take yellowstone...draw an big bubble around it that encompasses Cody, Jackson, Eastern Idaho, Southwest montana and all right north of yellowstone....Then the entire Bob Marshall wilderness region in Montana....and thats about it in a nutshell. NONE in Colorado. and basically very few once your south of jackson,wy..the are there, but minimal compared to up north

 

[7mag]

There is a bunch around Dubois and as far south as South Pass

 

[mntnguide]

There is a bunch around Dubois and as far south as South Pass

Good point...Extend your bubble so it encompasses more than the teton wilderness out to dubois and south of the highway as well quite a way! There a freakin pile of them up on Togwotee and south and east for sure

 

[JimP]

No griz as far south as Colorado and Utah. At least resident populations. There was one hit by a truck in Utah on I-80 east of Salt Lake back in the 70's. I think that the last one was killed in Colorado back in the 20's or 30's.

But both states have lots of black bears.

 

[sheephunter]

The last known grizzly in Colorado was killed in the 70's. Ever since then there has been a group of people (pro predator people maybe, but I don't know for sure) that was trying to prove there might still be a remnant population. They would go out every spring and collect hair & scat samples to try and prove it, but they were never able to. it's been years since I've heard anything about them. About 10 years ago a guy swore he saw a grizzly I think in the San Isabel NF. The guy was supposedly a professional photographer but "didn't have a camera with him" at the time of the supposed sighting; Hmmm...

 

[ivorytip]

that boundary is expanding every year too, I think there are a lot more south of Jackson than people think, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of sightings in northern Utah this fall, back behind bear lake region.

 

[JimP]

The last known grizzly in Colorado was killed in the 70's. .

That is what happens when you get old, you don't remember dates. That is why men don't remember their wedding day.

 

[ScottR]

Pretty much the entire Wind River range has them, the further south you go the lower the density.

Also be aware, signs have started to be posted in areas of the Wyoming range that feature Grizzly Bears and not black bears. Indicator that they are there and the population is significant enough to note. I ran into one about 6 years ago there and was surprised that I ran into it but the signs had recently been posted.

A friend of mine also found warning signs in an area there about Grizz being relocated there.

 

[ivorytip]

a grizz was shot last week in island park area, was mistaken for a black bear, they turned themselves in.

 

[hoshour]

These two maps should help

Grizzly bear recovery zones in the NW U.S. https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/species/mammals/grizzly/2016Posters/Grizzly%20Bear%20Recovery%20Zones.pdf

Yellowstone grizzly range for sows with cubs https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/es/species/mammals/grizzly/2016Posters/Distribution of Female Grizzlies with Cubs-of-the-Year.pdf

 

[ScottR]

Links aren't working Dave


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[JimP]

They are PDF files and work for me on a laptop.

 

[hoshour]

I just clicked on the links in the post and they both worked for me

 

[Tim McCoy]

The maps do a great job telling you where to be Grizz aware, but bears don't read maps, and some of the populations are expanding. Believe a bow hunter got mauled by a sow Grizz in the San Juans in southern CO in the late 70's, he killed it if memory serves. Don't think it was a hoax, but am not 100% sure. I know they are not known for roaming long range like a wolf, but you just never know.

 

[NE69]

Ed Wiseman in 1979. Killed it by stabbing it with an arrow in the neck. I'm sure they can put on the miles if they want to. I can't understand why the Bighorns don't have a popualtion of them? Any ideas on why?

 

[Tim McCoy]

How common are white bark pines in the Bighorns? Grizz are often associated with them. If none are there, that may be a partial reason, if they are there in good numbers, I'd guess Grizz will colonize it in time.

Only reason I say that is where I Moose hunted in WY, in unit 20 NW of Jackson, they were very scarce. Bio said lack of white bark pine was mostly why Grizz were rare in that drainage. A few were seen there every year, but very few. Regardless, I carried spray along with a Moose rifle.

 

[hoshour]

I would guess the main reason is that there's about 40 miles of open terrain between mountain ranges and their current range sticks pretty closely to mountainous areas, though they could hop over to the Pryors in southern Montana which is only about 20 miles away and then it's just a few miles to the Bighorns.

While white bark pines are a favorite, grizzlies eat a whole range of things, which is why they are thriving in the Yellowstone area even though the white bark pines have declined there.

 

[Tim McCoy]

Makes one wonder how that sow ended up in CO, almost to NM, in 79? Long range roamer, last of a remnant population, released "pet", or transported there by aliens perhaps. At that time, as I recall, the Grizz population was nowhere near capacity to the north, so I'd suspect it was a remnant or released by someone.

 

[WY ME]

The environmentalists used the decline of the White Bark Pines (moths) as a reason in their lawsuit to delay delisting for a few years but after an extensive study that ploy was debunked and delisting has moved forward.