Cattle-killing grizzly euthanized near Avon

HELENA (AP) — Authorities in Montana have trapped and killed a grizzly bear after it killed yearling cattle on a ranch near Avon.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks grizzly specialist Rory Trimbo said ranchers riding horseback were checking cattle on Saturday when they came across the bear on a horse carcass, the Independent Record reported.

U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel responded to the incident on the ranch, west of Helena. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials inspected the area the following day, discovered another dead yearling and set a trap nearby.

The trap caught an angry 411-pound (186-kilogram) grizzly bear that was taken to Missoula where it was euthanized, said Jamie Jonkel, bear specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Officials believed the euthanized bear was possibly responsible for four attacks, including two yearlings killed over the weekend, Jonkel said.

"Usually when we get adult males that kill multiple livestock on the first incident that's fairly common," Jonkel said. "If we don't know, a lot of times they're relocated. And if they come back and kill another sheep or kill another calf, then that's a no-brainer. But the evidence was quite clear that he had killed these two last yearlings."