HUNTING – A nonresident hunter has been ordered to pay more than $2,300 for mistakenly shooting and killing a grizzly bear in northwestern Montana. That's a light fine for killing a protected big-game species, likely the result of the hunter's cooperation in the case.
Richard Kutcher of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, thought the animal he shot May 16 was a black bear, not a grizzly.
Grizzly bears are listed as a threatened species and are illegal to hunt.
State wildlife officials say Kutcher reported the shooting to wildlife officials immediately and cooperated with the investigation.
Kutcher pleaded guilty in Flathead County Justice Court to killing a grizzly bear in a closed season. He was fined $235 and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.
