Bear

A 600-pound grizzly bear poached in Salmo, British Columbia, Canada, has been turned into an educational tool for residents.

Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative committee on Monday honored TransCanada for providing the grant to the mount the 20-year-old bear and Naples taxidermist John Thomas for donating his time. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Kootenai Tribe and Dawson Ridge Beetle Works also were involved with the project.

Two summers ago, the bear was trapped from the Selkirk Mountains and ended up in Salmo.

“He had gotten into a man’s garbage and compost pile and the guy shot it,” said Fish and Game biologist Wayne Wakkinen.

The man and a few of his friends then posed for pictures with the bear. The photos were posted on the Internet and authorities issued the poacher several citations.

KVRI was interested in getting a grizzly bear and learned about the poached animal.

“We applied for a grant with TransCanada and John (Thomas) came up with a great bid and a generous offer with his labor. It saved us a bunch of money.”

The grizzly is on display at Boundary County Library and will be taken places like the Boundary County Fair for educational purposes.

“It certainly gets people’s attention,” Wakkinen said.

Patty Perry, facilitator for the Kootenai Tribe and Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative, would like to use the rest of the grant from TransCanada to repair C.J. — a bear that had been on display at the library for several years.