The Wyoming Game and Fish Sheridan Regional Office has announced a sub-adult female black bear was lethally removed in Sheridan on Sunday, July 30, after a prior relocation effort failed. 

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on July 30, Game and Fish personnel responded to a report of a black bear in Downer Addition near 17th and Hickory streets. The bear was located in the apple tree of a residence and immobilized. The bear was marked with numbered ear tags, indicating it had been involved in a previous conflict situation. 

According to the department, personnel reviewed information provided by the tags and learned the bear had been captured and relocated from North Heights Lane on July 6. At that time, the bear was accessing unsecured garbage in the subdivision. It was immobilized and relocated to a remote area of the Bighorn Mountains. 

“It is disappointing that the relocation effort was not successful,” said Sheridan Region Wildlife Coordinator Tim Thomas. “Despite relocating bears to suitable habitat a significant distance away, they sometimes make dedicated efforts to get back to where they have received food in the past and expect to find more. In this case, the bear traveled at least 42 miles in just over three weeks and ended up about a half-mile from where it was initially captured.”

Relocation is more successful when a bear has had limited time to access human provided attractants. This makes it important for the public to call the Game and Fish Department as soon as a conflict occurs. 

Any sightings of a bear in residential or developed areas should be reported as soon as possible to the Game and Fish Regional Office at 307-672-7418 during regular business hours, to the Stop Poaching hotline at 877-WGFD-TIP or to a local law enforcement agency.