Giant Grizzly Donated to Meeteetse Museums
Written by Andrew-Rossi on August 9, 2018
A giant grizzly that was euthanized near Meeteetse will soon find itself back in the area in which it met its demise.
The boar was the biggest bear most experts had ever seen in the Yellowstone ecosystem, according to Dusty Lasseter, large carnivore biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Lasseter told the Powell Tribune that even after having just finished hibernating, the bear was well over 600 pounds. If the bear had lived through the summer, Lasseter says it could have been close to an 800-pound bear in the fall, adding that there are no records of a grizzly this big being caught in this region.
The bear was trapped and euthanized after repeated conflicts with livestock. But because of its unusual size, Game and Fish decided to donate the bear to the Meeteetse Museums. It will stand side by side with a boar known as Little Wahb, which was reported to be a 900-pound bear that was donated to the Museums in 2000.
The new bear, known as “Big Joe,” will be stuffed as a full body mount and used in a special education display. The Tribune reports that the display will feature modern technology to highlight drone footage, DNA testing results, the history of the bear’s life and other aspects of grizzly education.
