Idaho Fish and Game officers shoot, kill a 250-pound black bear in Boise’s North End

Nicole Blanchard
·2 min read

Conservation officers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game shot and killed a 250-pound black bear in Boise’s North End on Friday after failing to tranquilize the animal.

In a news release, Fish and Game officials said they received numerous reports Friday morning from residents who saw the bear. One woman posted photos on Facebook of the bear walking through her backyard.

Conservation officers reportedly found the adult male bear in a cottonwood tree outside a residence on Hillway Drive, near Hill and Bogus Basin roads. The area backs up to the Hillside to Hollow Reserve, a popular hiking and mountain biking spot.

Fish and Game said officers tried to tranquilize the bear, which fell from the tree and began heading south toward Hill Road. Ryan Walrath, Southwest Region wildlife manager for Fish and Game, said officers decided to shoot the animal with a firearm before it made its way to a more densely populated neighborhood.

It’s the second black bear euthanized in Boise in the past week. The first, which was shot on Sept. 18, was found in an industrial park between Federal Way and Interstate 84, according to a separate Fish and Game news release. That bear, also an adult male, had been tranquilized and relocated from the Hill Road area in May after it was seen wandering through backyards.

Fish and Game spokesperson Brian Pearson said in a phone interview that the bear had walked about 40 miles to return to the Boise area.

In the news release, Walrath said the bear had seemed like a good candidate for relocation in May.

“It was a younger animal that had wandered into town and didn’t appear to be habituated — it had no known prior interactions with humans,” he said. “Unfortunately, it returned back to Boise and conflicts were inevitable.”

Walrath said both bears likely were looking for food in the Boise area to prepare for hibernation. Fish and Game said Boise residents, particularly those whose properties border the Foothills, should take care to keep food sources — including bird feeders, trash cans and pet food — away from bears.