By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
Editor’s note: Details were added to this story on Sept. 4 and 5 after EBS received information from authorities.
An unfortunate pair of vehicle-wildlife collisions left two horses, one mule and a female grizzly cub dead on the side of U.S. Highway 191 roughly 16 miles south of Big Sky early Wednesday morning.
Sometime after midnight on Wednesday, Sept. 3, the horses and mule were struck by a Ford pickup truck towing a trailer between Taylor Fork Road and Snowflake Springs, near the Yellowstone National Park border.
“We know that those three animals—the two horses and the mule—were killed in the same incident, and when you think about that, it’s pretty significant… I would imagine that vehicle is pretty banged up,” said Morgan Jacobsen, Region 3 communication and education program manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, in a phone call with EBS Thursday. According to a Montana Department of Transportation representative, the truck is believed to be totaled.
The origin of the horses and mule remain unknown, although sources suggest they may have belonged to the U.S. Forest Service and broke loose after being spooked in the backcountry. They were not branded, according to a representative of Montana Highway Patrol. The incident remains under MHP investigation.
In the early morning darkness some time after the first collision, a family of grizzly bears discovered the carnage and began feeding, which eventually led to a young cub being struck by a second vehicle.
This incident comes on the heels of a grizzly killed in Big Sky by a vehicle on Ousel Falls Road, and is the third vehicle-killed grizzly between Big Sky and West Yellowstone since Aug. 4.
“There was a family group of grizzly bears—we don’t know how many—that came to that site where the horses and the mule were hit, and then a female cub of the year was struck by a vehicle and then killed onsite,” Jacobsen said.
He explained the likelihood that the cub was accompanied at least by an adult female.
“Grizzly bears, those cubs usually stick with their moms for two-and-a-half years… This cub was born early this year.”
The cub was killed immediately by the vehicle, Jacobsen noted. It was found in a roadside ditch with a crushed skull when FWP responded later Wednesday morning. By then, the rest of the grizzly bear family was gone with no sightings since, as of Thursday mid-day.
FWP recovered the cub carcass, and officials with the Montana Department of Transportation and Department of Livestock, as well as local ranchers, worked to clean the horse and mule carcasses while controlling highway traffic, according to Jacobsen.
He discussed the importance of driving carefully at night.
“Highway 191 and highways around the state are areas where wildlife can be found, and especially driving at night it’s important to watch your speed and be aware that wildlife will be on—or in proximity to—the roads and highways that we use,” Jacobsen said, noting the risk to both humans and animals. “Use caution.”
According to MHP, a Toyota SUV swerved to avoid the animal debris and ended up in the Gallatin River. Officials from MHP and MDT were unsure whether this single-vehicle accident was connected to the collision with the grizzly cub. MHP did not disclose the condition of passengers in the Ford truck or the Toyota SUV.
