POCATELLO — A black bear was spotted on Thursday evening near the Satterfield Drive area in northeastern Pocatello.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game said wildlife biologists confirmed that the bear was seen near Summit Drive.

Initially, the Pocatello Police Department received a report of a mountain lion sighting in the 3300 block of Summit Drive on Thursday.

Officers with Fish and Game and Animal Control responded to the scene, but no mountain lion was found. However, authorities said a local resident captured the animal in question on video.

After wildlife biologists reviewed the footage, they determined that the animal was actually a black bear.

Judging from the footage, Fish and Game officials said that the bear appeared to be passing through the area.

According to Jennifer Jackson, regional conservation educator with Idaho Fish and Game, it is uncommon to see black bears so close to Pocatello but it is not out of the realm of possibility.

In August 2016, Fish and Game officials attempted to capture a black bear that had reportedly caused some damage to a couple of homes in the Buckskin area near Pocatello. At one home, the bear had apparently pushed in a window screen and entered a residential basement, while another homeowner said a bear had scratched a hot tub cover.

Efforts to trap the bear were unsuccessful and it is assumed the bear moved on from the area. 

According to Fish and Game, homeowners living in areas where bears can be found are advised to keep pet food stored indoors and make sure to clean barbecue grills after use because the smell of food can be an attractant. Homeowners should also consider bringing in bird feeders, which can also be tempting to bears.

The incident on Thursday was one of numerous reports of wild animal sightings in the Gate City area. On May 11, a mountain lion on Red Hill Trail near Idaho State University was darted and moved out of the area.

Fish and Game said there have been multiple reported mountain lion sightings in the area after the May 11 incident, but these reports have not been verified due to either a lack of evidence or possible misidentification.

On Tuesday, officers with both Fish and Game and the Pocatello Police Department responded to a report of a moose at Memorial Park in Pocatello. The animal was successfully darted by conservation officers and transported to a remote location away from people and cities.

A woman was gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday morning.

Kim Hancock, 59, of Santa Rosa, California, was attacked by a bull bison at Fountain Paint Pot in the Lower Geyser Basin.

According to the National Park Service, Hancock and a crowd of people approached within 10 yards of the bison while walking along the boardwalk. The crowd came was within 15 feet from the bison at one point. The bison then became agitated and charged the crowd, goring Hancock in the process.

Hancock was transported by ground ambulance to the Big Sky Medical Center in Big Sky, Montana, where she was treated for a hip injury. She is listed in good condition.

Park rangers are investigating the incident.

The National Park Service said this is the second incident of a bison injuring a visitor this year. There was one such incident in 2017 and five in 2015. Four people have been injured by wildlife in Yellowstone National Park in a little over a month.

Authorities are advising visitors to give animals space whenever they are near trails, boardwalks, parking lots or in developed areas.

“Always stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards away from all other animals, including bison and elk,” a news release from the National Park Service said. “If you can’t maintain these distances, turn around and find an alternate route.”

POCATELLO — A Pocatello man recently set a new state catch-and-release record for rainbow trout.

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, David Raisch was fly fishing in the Snake River when he landed the 30.5-inch record rainbow, which coincidentally is where the previous record of 29.3 inches was caught.

Raisch caught his record fish in late March and submitted it into Fish and Game’s catch and release records, which allows anglers to claim a state record while letting the fish live.

The catch and release record program, which was started in 2016, complements the traditional “certified weight” records that require anglers to weigh the fish on a certified scale, which means the fish is typically killed.

POCATELLO — Conservation officers had to remove a mountain lion from a tree on Idaho State University’s campus on Friday.

The mountain lion, which was spotted in a tree off Red Hill Trail, was reported to ISU Public Safety at approximately 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Public Safety, Pocatello police and conservation officers with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game arrived on scene and secured a perimeter so the mountain lion could be tranquilized.

After the lion was captured unharmed, Fish and Game personnel removed the animal from the area to be relocated outside of town.

Nobody was injured during the incident.

According to ISU officials, there are sporadic mountain lion sightings on the Pocatello campus once every few years, usually in the area of Red Hill Trail, and sightings like the one on Friday are not unusual for the area. 

SODA SPRINGS — A Soda Springs man has been sentenced for illegally killing and wasting a trophy bull elk in September.

In a plea agreement with the Caribou County prosecutor’s office in March, Bart Rhead pleaded guilty to two elk poaching charges and various trapping violations.

As a result, Rhead was given a 90-day jail sentence, with 60 days suspended, and 120 hours of community service in lieu of time served.

Read was also sentenced to pay $12,650 in reimbursement to the state and received a lifetime hunting and trapping revocation. He also had to forfeit his hunting rifle.

In accordance with the plea agreement, Rhead also admitted that the three bull elk mounted in his home, as well as one mule deer buck, were all taken during closed hunting seasons. According to Fish and Game, Rhead was issued written warnings for possession of those animals and has relinquished possession of the mounts.

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, conservation officers in Soda Springs received a call last September from a sportsman who heard a gunshot and saw a large bull elk go over a ridge.

A conservation officer later watched Rhead use a bulldozer to move the dead trophy elk to a location near his property. There, Fish and Game said Rhead removed the antlers, ivory teeth and hide, and then left the rest of the carcass to waste.

Several days later, a search warrant was served on Rhead’s property and the elk antlers were recovered. The elk’s carcass was found on the property wrapped in a tarp and pushed off the side of a hill.

Fish and Game said the antlers scored 363 points using the Boone and Crockett points system, meaning the poached elk was listed as trophy status.

While serving the search warrant, officers also found a wildlife feed station that had an overhead street-style light, mineral tubs, a water trough and large amounts of alfalfa cubes. Fish and Game said the use of lights or bait is prohibited in hunting big game in Idaho.

Authorities said that additional evidence was revealed that Rhead had previously taken a bull elk with a rifle during archery-only hunts.

Fish and Game said that anybody with information on a wildlife violation should contact Citizens Against Poaching at 1-800-632-5999. Callers can remain anonymous and be eligible for rewards if the information leads to arrests.

TWIN FALLS — Shoshone Falls is roaring back to life again, thanks to a large water release by the Bureau of Reclamation.

The water at the 212-foot Shoshone Falls, nicknamed the “Niagara of the West,” is currently flowing at about 15,000 cubic feet per second, which is equatable to last spring when the size of the waterfall attracted a large number of visitors.

According to a news release from Southern Idaho Tourism, the deep snowpack right now is currently at 130 percent of the normal range in the Upper Snake River Basin, and the Bureau of Reclamation is releasing large amounts of water for flood control.

This means that visitors to the waterfall in Twin Falls could be in for a spectacular show in April and May.

Last spring, there was so much water flowing over Shoshone Falls that the viewing area was inundated with visitors, with reports of cars lining outside the canyon. If the work schedule allows, tourism officials recommend visiting Shoshone Falls on a weekday because the next few weekends could see large crowds.

Shoshone Falls, which is 45 feet higher than Niagara Falls, can be seen from two viewing decks. During sunny days, a rainbow can be seen near the cascading waters. 

The area can be accessed from Pocatello by taking Exit 182 on Interstate 84 and following the signs to the waterfall.

The park entrance fee is $3 per vehicle.

POCATELLO — Local authorities are urging caution after a dog was injured by a mountain lion in a residential area in Pocatello on Wednesday morning.

The Pocatello Police Department said a mountain lion was spotted at approximately 6:50 a.m. Wednesday in the area of Goldfield Drive and Silverfield Way on the east side of town near the Portneuf Medical Center

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, a homeowner in that area let their dog outside. The canine then encountered the cougar, which was in close proximity, and the two animals fought.

Eventually, the lion ran off and the dog chase the cat up a tree. From the tree, the lion swiped at the dog, which sent the canine running back to its owner. The cougar then left the area, and despite a search by multiple law enforcement agencies, the feline has not been located.

Fish and Game said the cougar was about the size of a young mountain lion or a small adult female lion.

The homeowner told wildlife biologists that the cougar was larger than the dog, which weighed 40 pounds.

Authorities said the dog sustained injuries, including scratches and puncture wounds, during its fight with the cougar. The dog was taken to a nearby animal hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

Fish and Game noted that this was likely not a predatorial attack but rather a case of the mountain lion and the dog being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The incident on Wednesday is the third time within the past two weeks that a cougar was spotted in the Gate City area. On March 26 at around 7:10 p.m., a mountain lion was spotted in the 500 block of East Chubbuck Road in Chubbuck.

Then on Saturday a second sighting occurred at around 9:50 p.m. on the opposite end of Chubbuck in the 900 block of Margaret Street. A resident saw the mountain lion after being alerted by her barking dogs.

Fish and Game said that the agency was not able to verify the age or size of the animals spotted in Chubbuck.

The agency also could not confirm whether the cougar on Wednesday is the same animal seen in either of the two Chubbuck sightings.

Mountain lions are predatory animals that rely on deer and small mammals as sources of food. This is why normally most of the area’s cougar sightings are in the south side of town where there is a well-established deer population.

However, Fish and Game said mountain lions can be spotted anywhere near town for a variety of reasons. These reasons could include that the animals are passing through or looking for food. The cougars might also be injured or young and inexperienced.

Local residents are being encouraged to take in any food left outside for their pets.

Usually, if a cougar is trapped, Fish and Game will either relocate the captured mountain lion or put it down, depending on the circumstances.

There have been documented attacks on pet dogs and house cats throughout the years. In December, a pet dog on Buckskin Road was mauled to death by a mountain lion that was later put down by wildlife biologists.

However, attacks on humans are rare, with only three recorded attacks since 1990 in Idaho. The last attack made national headlines in 2016 when a lion attempted to drag a 4-year-old Blackfoot girl away from a family camping trip near Rexburg. The girl survived the attack with minor injuries.

Anybody who sees a mountain lion near their property is encouraged to contact the Pocatello police dispatch at 208-234-6100 or the local Idaho Fish and Game office at 208-232-4703.

AMERICAN FALLS — Authorities in American Falls are advising the public to stay away from a moose and its yearling that have been spotted near the Willow Bay Marina area.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the American Falls Police Department issued a statement advising residents to stay clear of the moose, which had been spotted on the bike path in the marina area.

However, since this moose has a yearling with it, authorities said the moose could become aggressive if anybody gets too close. Police also said the moose will be allowed to leave the area on its own.

The American Falls Police Department also said that the area sees a lot of wild animals coming into the area, including deer and antelope.

Two injured snowmobilers were rescued in separate incidents on Sunday at nearly the same time on Sawtell Peak near Island Park.

The Fremont County Search and Rescue received the first call at around 3:15 p.m. Sunday. A 41-year-old snowmobiler from Garettson, South Dakota, was with a group when he hit a tree on the east side of Sawtell. He was injured and said he was suffering from hip and back pain.

FCSR called an air ambulance to help. However, search and rescue crews were not able to get the helicopter to land so they placed the injured snowmobiler in a banana sled and took him to Sawtelle Peak Road. He was later transported by air ambulance to a local hospital.

The snowmobiler’s current condition is not known.

Following that rescue, FCSR headed about a mile northwest on Sawtell to another injured man, a 22-year-old from Rigby.

Though the man told rescuers by cellphone that he was all right, he had built a snow cave.

The Rigby man had been riding with two friends when he hit a tree. In the process, he damaged the “A-arm” on his snow-machine.

FCSR reached the Rigby man at around 6:30 p.m where he expressed concern that he might have had a concussion.

“The rescuers spent the next three and a half hours navigating a safe route down off of the mountain. They arrived back to base camp shortly after 10 p.m.,” FSCR secretary Eric Thomas said.

Thomas said that weather and rough mountain conditions made it difficult to leave Sawtell with the injured man.

“They spent that whole time working their way out of that mountain. There wasn’t a trail or anything from where he was. It took quite a while to work our way through the trees and terrain,” Thomas said.

Sunday’s incidents bring the total number of snowmobiling accidents in the Island Park area to eight. Two of those involved fatalities.

Two snowmobilers became stranded Thursday night after the ice they were riding their snowmobile on collapsed and their sled sank into Island Park Reservoir.

According to authorities, a 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman from Idaho Falls had been riding their snowmobile from their cabin near Shotgun to Lakeside Lodge when the accident occurred.

As the couple rode along the south shoreline of the Island Park Reservoir, the ice broke underneath them, sinking their sled.

“The two individuals made it to the bank and were able to call the sheriff’s office for help,” Fremont Search and Rescue secretary Eric Thomas said.

Fremont Search and Rescue and Fremont County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene.

“One search member made it within 25 yards of the stranded individuals, but he was unable to go any further due to the danger of the snow under his sled sliding into the reservoir,” Thomas said. “The two subjects were instructed to walk east along the trees staying back from the bank.”

Rescuers made it to the stranded couple. They were later taken back to base where they were examined and released by Island Park EMS.

A search-and-rescue team member gave the couple a ride back to their cabin. Their names have not been released.

Thomas warned that the Island Park Reservoir is not stable enough for snowmobiles.

“The warm weather we received this last week has made the ice very thin in places,” he said. “The new snow we received over the last couple of days has hidden the slush sitting on top of ice.”

Thomas also warned that anybody who tries to snowmobile on the thin ice may wind up in the freezing reservoir water.

“After spending a few minutes in the water and the cold air temperature — once you get out, (the) deadly combination can quickly lead to hypothermia,” he said. “Another danger is the windblown cornices that have formed on the west and south banks in the reservoir and rivers.”

An earlier snowmobile crash that injured a man occurred at approximately 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at Egan Basin in Franklin County.

According to a report from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Lanell Thomas had been maneuvering over some moguls near the Pig Chutes area of Egan Basin when he landed extremely hard.

The landing threw Thomas into the handlebars hard enough to bend them.

Todd Flippence, who was riding with Thomas, called for help.

Franklin County Search and Rescue responded to the scene and stabilized Thomas, who suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. Search and rescue personnel transported Thomas to an air ambulance that airlifted him to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, Utah.

Lisa Dayley Smith of the Rexburg Standard Journal and Necia P. Seamons of the Preston Citizen contributed to this story.