Yellowstone National Park staff trapped and killed an 11-year-old male grizzly bear on May 14 after the bear repeatedly sought out human food sources in developed areas of the park. Between April 3 and May 13, the 400-pound grizzly bear overturned several large, bear-resistant dumpsters and gained access to human food and trash near Old Faithful, the Nez Perce Picnic Area, and the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot.
In addition to developing a strategy to flip over 800-pound dumpsters, the bear also uprooted smaller bear-resistant trash cans from their concrete bases to gain access to human food and garbage.
As a result, the bear became increasingly food-conditioned and posed a risk to public safety in one of the busiest areas of the park. The decision to kill the bear was made to ensure public safety and reduce the chances of other bears becoming habituated to human food.
The last grizzly bear killed in a management action in Yellowstone was in September 2017, when the park removed a grizzly bear that was damaging tents and accessing human food in backcountry campsites at Heart Lake.
“It’s unfortunate that this bear began regularly seeking out garbage and was able to defeat the park’s bear-resistant infrastructure,” said Yellowstone Bear Management Biologist Kerry Gunther. “We go to great lengths to protect bears and prevent them from becoming conditioned to human food. But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. When that happens, we sometimes have to remove the bear from the population to protect visitors and property.”
In accordance with Yellowstone’s bear management plan, the park provides bear-resistant food storage lockers in all campgrounds, food storage devices in all backcountry campsites, and bear-resistant garbage cans and dumpsters. Yellowstone reminds all visitors that utilizing these bear safety measures remain crucial in ensuring public safety and preventing wildlife from developing dangerous habits.
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RVT1209b
Bear problems start with careless tourist not obeying guidelines of food security at camp sites. Here on our local Army Base signs going out on the range clearly state ” A FED BEAR IS A DEAD BEAR”. Once they get a taste of goodies meant for humans, bears don’t care what they have to do to get it.
Too bad they couldn’t relocate it to another area of the country or a mountain or even to Alaska or Canada perhaps. One day there may not be any left for us to enjoy and wonder about.
Thank you for the news, RV Travel. Very sad that the bear’s behavior became the reason for its death. Certainly need to keep the wildlife and park visitors separate in many ways. Have a great week and safe travels!