KNWR presents bear program

According to Idaho Fish and Game, the Northern Panhandle is one of only two areas of the state where both black bears and grizzly bears live. The rare grizzly generally lives high in the Selkirk Mountains. The more common black bear is often found at much lower altitudes.

Did you know that both species eat mostly plant foods and a little animal protein? Black bears eat everything from grubs to huckleberries. A grizzly bear can eat as many as 40,000 army cutworm moths a day.

Bears see as well as people do and hear better than them. But it is their noses that are really outstanding.

Bears remember where food and places are by how they smell. Grizzly bear noses are about 1,000 times better developed than human noses. A black bear’s sense of smell is said to be more than seven times better than a dog’s.

Want to know more about bears? Come to the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m. Brian Johnson of Idaho Fish and Game will be on hand to explain more. You can also meet C.J., the IDFG Grizzly bear mount.