Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks partnered with a local landowner to install an electric fence around a tiny cabin housing a generator that been damaged by grizzly bears in years past and they just post a video of it working perfectly!
Although the tiny cabin did not contain any attractants, grizzly bears had been using it as a scratching post and damaged its wooden exterior. As you can see in the video, the curious bear rocked up to the structure and was sniffing around when its snout made contact with the electrified wire. The shock wasn’t enough to hurt the apex predator but it more than sufficed send it running in the opposite direction.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks:
Montana’s grizzly bears continue to increase in both area density and geographic distribution. As a result, it is more important than ever to proactively prevent human-bear conflict from occurring.
Near NCDE West of Choteau/Augusta, along the mountain front, this remote cabin’s 5 ½ foot tall generator shed contains no attractants, though the structure itself has a history of use as a bear rub post by both black bears and grizzly bears. It was featured on our page in 2023!
FWP partnered with the landowner to install this electric fence, which is preventing property damage from occurring, increasing human safety, and aversively conditioning individual bears to avoid human structures. The landowner strongly believes this is the same individual bear that returns yearly and that he has lost a lot of weight due to the breeding season and depleted fat reserves.
“Electrification is among the most effective, safe, and applicable bear management tools used to protect private property and teach bears to avoid human structures and food sources.” –Chad White, FWP Bear Management Specialist
This collaborative project found effective bear management solutions while also satisfying landowner needs and interests.
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