1 grizzly bear euthanized, 1 hit by car after relocation away from Calgary

Two young grizzly bears captured near Calgary are now dead, less than a month after they were relocated by the province.

The government uses a grizzly bear response guide to consider the sex, age and conflict history of animals involved in human conflicts.

The bears were first spotted together in the Cochrane area mid-June, getting into residents’ chicken coops. Frame said the bears were then moved west into the mountains, but the male bear ended up returning to the acreages.

Frame suggested the smell coming from the chicken coop, including the aroma of the birds’ food, may have attracted the bear.

“It killed some chickens while the homeowners were away and then they came back and the bear came back into the yard,” Frame said, adding the grizzly showed food-conditioned and human-habituated behaviour. “So following the guidelines in our grizzly bear response guide, the recommendation for a bear on its second offence with livestock like that was to euthanize it.”

Watch below: Global’s past coverage of two grizzly bears captured near Calgary

1:47 2nd grizzly bear captured near Calgary after another trapped in Cochrane

• 2nd grizzly bear captured near Calgary after another trapped in Cochrane
• Two grizzly bears seen roaming Cochrane neighbourhood

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Fish and Wildlife said the male bear was put down on July 12.

His sister, who was moved further west into the mountains from Cochrane, was hit by a semi on July 4.

“Generally when we move a bear like that, they wander for a bit and try to find a place where they’re going to settle down,” Frame said. “In this bear’s wanderings, she crossed onto the TransCanada Highway and was hit.”