People and Carnivores

09/02/2026

Join us for a bear aware walk!

We'll be with Whitefish Legacy Partners to talk about bear behavior, habitat, safety, and practice discharging inert bear spray canisters.

Find us at the Lion Mountain Trailhead September 23 from 5:00-6:30

https://www.whitefishlegacy.org/guided-learning-hikes

08/28/2026

Bears are moving around more in search of food—something they do every fall. But this year, you may see bears more than usual as they search due to berry crop failures in many areas.

In this article, we share 5 basics for keeping yourself, your property, and bears safe.

Rosie Costain and Ryan Wilbur write, The berry crop failures in many areas and the dry, hot summer haven’t made things easy for bears or people.

08/14/2026

Monday, August 17, is the deadline to comment on the proposed grizzly bear rule changes.

Grizzly bears need your help.

If adopted, a federal proposal would prematurely turn grizzly bear management over to the states, giving them more authority to kill grizzlies as a way to reduce and avoid human-bear conflicts, and for other unnecessary reasons.

The best way to prevent human-bear conflicts is not to kill bears, but instead to remove and reduce access to bear attractants that bring grizzlies into conflict situations with people and property.

We encourage you to read the proposal and submit comments by August 17.

You can submit comments and find the rule change at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/17/2026-14450/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-grizzly-bear-listing-on-the-list-of-endangered-and

08/11/2026

We’ve been able to hand out some of our conflict prevention toolkits this year, including to a cattle rancher in northwest Montana. We’ve worked with him on fladry projects in the past, and he appreciates a bit of extra protection, like flashing Foxlights and trail cameras for monitoring, for the young cattle when he suspects carnivores are nearby.

As always, we customize the tools and information inside each kit so it’s as useful as possible for the landowners we loan them to.

08/07/2026

"The researchers found that, where pumas are present, deer are more active during the day. They were also 15% less likely to be in areas with lots of roads, choosing instead to spend more time in remote habitat areas.

"As a result of those changes in deer activity, the researchers calculated a 67% reduction in the likelihood of a deer-vehicle collision."

Living among large predatory carnivores could actually make you safer. A study published in the journal Current Biology found that pumas—wild cats also known as mountain lions, cougars or panthers—change deer behavior, leading to fewer collisions with cars on roadways. In areas where puma occupa...

08/04/2026

Grizzly bears need your help.

If adopted, a federal proposal would prematurely turn grizzly bear management over to the states, giving them more authority to kill grizzlies as a way to reduce and avoid human-bear conflicts, and for other unnecessary reasons.

The best way to prevent human-bear conflicts is not to kill bears, but instead to remove and reduce access to bear attractants that bring grizzlies into conflict situations with people and property.

We encourage you to read the proposal and submit comments by August 17.

You can submit comments and find the rule change at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/17/2026-14450/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-grizzly-bear-listing-on-the-list-of-endangered-and

07/23/2026

We set up this temporary electric fence ahead of a bear safety presentation to show folks how they can use this conflict prevention tool.

Temporary electric fences are a simple option for keeping bears away from an attractant.

We often use them to tide us over while we design and build a permanent electric fence on properties that have recently been visited by a bear, but they’re also useful for seasonal attractants (like fruit trees), things that will be moved (like camps), or for year-round use if you don’t want to build a permanent fence.

For our temporary set ups, we use electric netting kits, a grounding rod, and either a plug-in or solar-powered energizer. The longest part of setting it up is untangling the netting—the whole process is quick and easy!

07/22/2026

“The research has several goals: to try to understand wolf communication; to use recording devices as a noninvasive way to assess wolf numbers; and to perhaps someday use recordings of wolf howls to protect livestock from the predators.”

The hair-shedding cousin of the wolf lounging on your couch may have a wild reason for barking at the postman or howling when an ambulance, fire engine or police car streaks by with its siren blaring.