GREAT FALLS — The Bozeman Police Department on Wednesday shared the photo above, and explained that police officers often work with other agencies to serve the community - and sometimes this provides the opportunity to be part of some neat experiences.
The BPD explained that Officer Dyk recently assisted Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks recently with relocating a young bear.
The bear had been in someone’s yard and was eating watermelon. When the home owner tried to scare the bear off, it did not leave.
FWP sedated the bear and safely transferred it to a more remote location.
One person asked in Facebook comments what kind of bear it is - someone responded that, although it appears brown like a grizzly, it is likely a "cinnamon-phase black bear."
The website Bear.org explains: "East of the Great Plains, nearly all are black. In Western states that have mountain meadows and open park-like forests, over half the black bears are brown, cinnamon, or blond. Light-colored fur reduces heat stress in open sunlight and allows the bears to feed longer in open, food-rich habitats. The lighter-colored fur may also camouflage them from predators in those open areas. Ice Age predators undoubtedly used to kill black bears in open areas where the bears couldn’t escape up trees. Grizzly bears still do that in some areas today."
