Food-conditioned grizzly bear killed in Yellowstone National Park
A grizzly bear eyes a ground squirrel and a hiker in Northwest Montana. (Chris Peterson photo)
Yellowstone National Park wildlife staff trapped and euthanized a grizzly bear this week after a series of conflicts with human food sources and trash in the park’s most popular tourist areas.
According to a Wednesday press release from the park, the 11-year-old, male grizzly bear, estimated to weigh 400 pounds, had repeatedly sought out food sources near Old Faithful, the Nez Perce Picnic Area and the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot.
The griz developed a strategy to flip over 800-pound dumpsters, uprooted small bear-resistant trash cans from their concrete bases and “became increasingly food-conditioned,” which wildlife managers decided posed a safety risk in such a busy area fo the park. The decisions to euthanize the animal was made to ensure public safety and reduce the chances of other bears becoming habituated to human food.
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