Grizzly bears are increasingly making their presence known along the Rocky Mountain Front, and some of them are making appearances on video.
Riawna Marie shared video of a group of grizzlies she saw near Dupuyer (west of Conrad) on Thursday, April 16, 2026:
The video serves as a reminder that Montana is bear country - not just in the forests and along the Rocky Mountain Front, but also increasingly farther east into the plains.
In 2023, a group of four grizzlies ran through some residential yards near the community of Ulm several miles south of Great Falls - watch:
Several people have also told MTN News in recent months that they have been seeing more grizzlies than usual lately in the Sun River Valley area, about 25 miles west of Great Falls.
JUNE 2020:
SEPTEMBER 2018:
As the grizzly bear population continues to expand across Montana, people can take the following steps to help protect their property and be safe while recreating.
How to avoid attracting bears to your property:
- Store garbage in an IGBC-certified bear resistant bin or other similarly resistant building or container at all times until the day of disposal.
- Avoid leaving food or smell attractants next to windows, doors or outside walls.
- Do not leave out pet food, bird feeders and bird seed or BBQ’s.
- Bears are attracted to fruit-bearing trees and bushes, gardens and compost piles. Electric fencing can be effective at deterring bears as well as routinely picking fallen and ripe fruit.
- Secure vulnerable livestock (chickens, goats, sheep) with an electric fence whenever possible.
Tips for recreating in bear country:
- Carry bear spray close at hand and know how to use it.
- Travel in groups whenever possible and plan to be back to your vehicle in the daylight hours.
- Avoid carcass sites and concentrations of ravens and other scavengers.
- Watch for signs of bears such as bear scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned over rocks, and partly consumed animal carcasses.
- Make noise, especially near streams or in thick forest where hearing and visibility is limited. This can be the key to avoiding encounters. Most bears will avoid humans when they know humans are present.
- Don't approach a bear.
For more information on living, working and recreating in Montana’s bear country, visit the FWP Bear Aware website.
