In a press statement, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game stated that Rex Baum (79) pleaded guilty in connection to the death of the female grizzly last year. Rex Baum was sentenced to 3 days in prison and banned from hunting for a period of ten years. After pleading guilty in the matter to a felony, Jared Baum, of Ashton was sentenced to 30 day imprisonment and banned from hunting for life.
Officials said that Fish and Game officers found the carcass of the grizzly on April 9, 2021, after it was dead from its radio tracking collar. The bear’s X-rays showed that she had been shot more times than 12 times.
The agency stated that conservation officers also visited the known den site of the sow, where they found a dead male grizzly cub. This was due to the sow’s failure not to return.
After sending a Google warrant for electronic records that were in the area at the time of the death of the grizzly, the agency reached out to the men.
Jared Baum admitted that he shot the bear. However, he claimed it was a case involving mistaken identity and that he believed it to be a black bear. Officials said that Baum said that despite admitting to having shot it. Officials said that Jared Baum saw the grizzly and realized he had shot it too many times. She was going to die so he killed her.
Jared Baum, realizing the bear was in his collar, told officials that he had disposed of two handguns he used with his father to kill him by throwing them into a pond. The guns were not recovered by a dive team.
Federally protected Idaho grizzlies The Idaho Governor. Brad Little joined Montana’s governor and Wyoming’s governors in petitioning to remove the bears from Endangered Species Act protections.
