SALMON, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) euthanized an adult black bear in Salmon over the weekend after trying to catch the bear for weeks.
In a news release Tuesday, the department said the bear had no fear of people, had become habituated to living in the city and was eating food found in the area, including fruit from people's trees.
IDFG Salmon Region Regional Supervisor, Ryan Hilton, said the bear was too comfortable living within the city limits.
"Any time we have a bear living among local residences, it raises a level of concern we have for our local community members," Hilton said in a news release. "Typical black bear behavior would be to run away from people, but this bear showed no fear of humans, even during close encounters. It's truly unfortunate that we had to put the bear down, but we were left with only one option with a bear that had become so habituated to people."
Idaho Fish and Game said people should try to harvest their fruit trees as soon as possible and call the department at (208) 756-2271 anytime people see a bear in their area.
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