Wildlife officials found and killed 14 black bears last week on a property in Montana. A cub was also found and relocated for possible placement at a zoo, officials said in a statement.
“These bears were unafraid of humans and stopped relying on natural foods,” said Montana game warden Captain Josh Leonard. “It’s very unfortunate they had to be euthanized.”
The incident comes amid a rise in human-bear encounters across multiple states, including Montana. Drought has disrupted berry crops and other natural food sources that bears depend on, sending them closer to humans and into garage cans, bird feeders and chicken coops.
Most black bears avoid people but when these opportunistic omnivores succeed in eating human food, they will continue doing so and experts say, it is impossible to reverse the behavior.
It is illegal to feed bears in Montana.
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