From nose to tail, the shell of the bear is 8 feet 4 inches long and nearly 5 feet wide. Each claw tops 3 inches. When it was struck fatally by a pickup truck last year in Lincoln, the bear weighed 830 pounds. It is the largest recorded west of the Continental Divide.

The hide is being tanned at Rocky Mountain Fur Dressers in Great Falls, in anticipation of work by a team of champion taxidermists. That work will be open to public viewing June 26 through 28 at the Lincoln Community Center.

Both the town of Lincoln and the University of Montana have expressed interest in acquiring the bear, which will be standing on all four legs after the taxidermy.