Grizzlies Were Raiding Montana Farms. Then Came Some Formidable Dogs.

50 States, 50 Fixes

Bears have recently acquired a fondness for the good eating found around grain bins on Montana’s plains. That’s a big problem for humans and grizzlies alike.

A livestock guardian dog and a grizzly bear.Credit...Ryan Rauscher/Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

50 States, 50 Fixes

Grizzlies Were Raiding Montana Farms. Then Came Some Formidable Dogs.

Bears have recently acquired a fondness for the good eating found around grain bins on Montana’s plains. That’s a big problem for humans and grizzlies alike.

Catrin Einhorn

Catrin Einhorn made friends with large dogs in Teton, Pondera and Toole Counties in Montana while reporting this article.

July 22, 2025

The grizzly bears feasted on piles of spilled wheat and barley. They broke into grain bins. They helped themselves to apples from family orchards. Sometimes they massacred chickens or picked off calves.

Once nearly eradicated from the lower 48 United States, grizzlies are growing in population and spreading onto Montana’s plains, where they had not roamed in perhaps a century.

In their travels, they’ve acquired a fondness for the good eating to be found in farmyards.

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Catrin Einhorn covers biodiversity, climate and the environment for The Times.

Grizzlies Were Raiding Montana Farms. Then Came Some Formidable Dogs.

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