Largest Known Grizzly Murdered

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person guilty of illegally shooting and killing what officials say was one of Montana;s largest grizzly bears.

The big grizzlys body was found Aug. 12 on a ranch in northern Montana. The bear known as Maximus because he stood 7 1/2 feet and weighed just around 800 pounds was dead about a month.

Special Agent Brian Lakes said Friday that he didn't know what the exact size of the reward would be but it would be "substantial."

"We are following up on some leads at this time," Lakes told the Great Falls Tribune.

Maximus was officially identified in 2007 by authorities as No. 4273 and was captured by accident. He was then 9 1/2 years old.

Even at 9 1/2 he weighed 765 pounds and was the second largest bear managers had ever captured in the state.

A remote camera snapped a picture of the same bear in the fall of 2008, and Madel said it looked as if the bear had grown to more than 800 pounds. He said the bear likely weighed more than 800 pounds at the time it was killed.

Typically, he said, male bears in the region average around 600 pounds.

The grizzly was never reported as a trouble maker it usually stayed clear from livestock and people. The bear was shot outside black bear hunting season. Hunters sometimes mistake grizzlies for black bears which makes this a terrible tragedy said Mike Madel a national park officer.

Madel said he is also investigating two other illegal shootings of grizzly bears.