Grizzly mysteriously lost a paw in Montana — then got gravely ill, wildlife officials say

A grizzly bear was euthanized in Montana by wildlife officials, who said it had an infection from a missing paw.

The bear was one of two that were captured in the lower Blackfoot Valley on May 29, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a news release on June 3. They were both 2-year-old female grizzlies, the release said.

Wildlife officials think they may have also been siblings, the Missoulian reported. One of the bears appeared healthy and weighed around 130 pounds, while the other was missing a foot, weighed 90 pounds, had “deeply sunken eyes” and was severely dehydrated, the outlet reported.

The two bears were found close to homes near the town of Bonner in western Montana, the release said. Officials captured the bears as a “proactive measure” to reduce contact between the bears and people in rural homes and to better evaluate the extent of the sickly bear’s injuries.

Officials worked with a local veterinarian to investigate the bear’s missing paw. They tried to determine if it would be possible to treat the bear but said it has a “serious infection” resulting from a previous injury in which it lost the foot.

Specialists were unsure what caused the initial injury because too much time had passed since it occurred but said it could be because of a trap, a gunshot wound or a natural accident.

They determined it was best to euthanize the bear, the release said.

“She was pretty near death,” Jamie Jonkel, the agency’s bear manager, told the Missoulian. “She might have made it another week.”

Wildlife officials relocated the other bear to a remote area near the head of Boles Creek, the news release said. She was fitted with a radio collar before being released, officials told CBS News.

The agency is now trying to determine if the bears have a third sibling from the same family group — this one a male. The three bears and their mother were known for “raiding human food sources” in the area last year, The Missoulian reported.

The mother and the male sibling have not been seen so far this spring, officials told the outlet.

This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Grizzly mysteriously lost a paw in Montana — then got gravely ill, wildlife officials say."