Fishing trip comes with three unexpected visitors

A close encounter with a sow black bear and her two cubs on the Montana side of Big Horn Lake left Dr. Matthew Beeton with an unusual story, but more importantly, a concern about bears becoming dangerously comfortable around people.

Beeton said he and family were boating and fishing along the shoreline near Little Bull Elk Creek August 8 when a sow and two cubs approached their boat.

“We usually see a lot of bears there,” Beeton said. “It’s known bear country.”

The sow was a black bear with a distinctive blond patch on her back. One of the cubs was black and the other cinnamon colored.

At first, seeing the three bears was an exciting experience. But Beeton quickly became concerned by how little fear they showed toward people.

“They had zero fear of humans,” he said. “They just came right up.”

Beeton and his group had been swimming near shore when the bears approached, prompting everyone to quickly get back into the boat and move away.

“We were like, ‘Hey, they’re getting too close for comfort,’” he said.

Beeton stressed that he never considered the encounter a bear attack and never felt that the sow was actively threatening them. His concern was instead the bears’ behavior.

“It was very obvious to us that she’s been fed before, and she’s teaching her cubs that humans are sources of food for them,” he said.

The group motored roughly a mile away and later found themselves fishing close to shore again. Before long, the same sow and cubs appeared.

“They came right up to the boat again, right up to the water’s edge asking for food, essentially,” Beeton said.

The sow appeared interested in the food and other items aboard the boat and seemed to be trying to determine how she might reach them.

“She looked like she was trying to figure out how she could get into the boat,” Beeton said. “We were only a few feet from the shore, and she smelled all of our goodies in there.”

Again, the group moved away.

Beeton attempted to use bear spray, not because the sow was attacking, but in hopes of discouraging the bears from approaching people. He released a short burst toward them, but the cloud dissipated before reaching the bears.

The experience reinforced an old warning Beeton has heard about habituated bears.

“I’ve always been taught, ‘A fed bear is a dead bear,’” he said.

That was ultimately why Beeton decided the encounter needed to be reported. He worries that someone has been feeding bears in the area and that repeated contact with people could eventually lead to a dangerous encounter, particularly for campers or picnickers along the remote shoreline.

“If it doesn’t get reported, then one of these days somebody’s going to be picnicking or sleeping overnight,” he said, and officials could be caught unaware of the developing problem.

Reporting an incident in that portion of Big Horn Lake presents challenges of its own. There is no cell service in much of the canyon. Beeton carried a satellite phone and used it to contact his wife, asking her to report the bears to authorities.

Beeton understood that a Montana wildlife officer would be notified, although he and his group left the area before speaking with an officer.

The remoteness also creates a potential concern during a genuine emergency. The area is in Carbon County, with the county sheriff’s office based in Red Lodge, a considerable distance away by road. Combined with the lack of reliable cell service in the canyon, getting help quickly could be difficult.

Beeton said other boaters were in the broader area, including people aboard a larger cabin boat who also appeared to be watching the bears. But much of the shoreline remains isolated.

For Beeton, the takeaway from the encounter isn’t that the bears were aggressive. It is that they were far too comfortable around humans.

“There was no bear attack,” he said. “It was mostly just a report because people don’t have cell phone service in that canyon.”

He suspects similar encounters may occur regularly without being reported.

“I guarantee these kinds of encounters are happening probably on a weekly basis, maybe more,” Beeton said. “Some idiot out there is feeding them.”

His hope is that reporting the sow and her cubs now may help wildlife officials address the situation before their lack of fear leads to a more serious encounter.

“They look like they’ve been fed,” Beeton said. “They’re going to be a problem.”

Beeton said his main takeaway is simply making sure people using the lake are aware of the bears and that the animals are given the space they need. He hopes reporting the encounter will help wildlife officials keep an eye on the sow and her cubs while reminding visitors that feeding bears, intentionally or otherwise, can quickly change their natural behavior.