Grand Teton National Park officials were forced to kill yet another black bear Wednesday after she spent the summer pillaging tents, cars, and backpacks in search of human food.

The six- to eight-year-old female black bear’s numerous forays into human food culminated in an incident Sept. 3 when she broke the window of a vehicle parked at Jenny Lake campground in an attempt to get food that was stored inside. Park rangers tranquilized the bear at Jenny Lake campground on Sept. 5. While the 173-pound bear was still unconscious, park officials administered a potassium chloride shot that stopped the animal’s heart.

The bear’s death comes as campers, hikers, and other park visitors continue to leave food within easy reach of bears in violation of park food storage rules, say Grand Teton officials. As of last month, the park had issued 43 warnings, 63 citations, and hundreds of reminders to people that failed to follow these rules. The park has killed three bears so far this year.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has also killed numerous bears this summer in the Jackson Hole area because people in bear country didn’t secure trash, bird feeders and other potential food rewards in bear country.

“Area residents and visitors alike need to realize that their failure to follow a food storage regulation often leads to this very situation where a bear has to be euthanized out of concern for human safety,” said park superintendent Mary Gibson Scott in a statement. Scott said that park staff is “discouraged” that visitors continue to leave food out despite increased efforts to educate visitors.

Grand Teton officials first started seeing the female black bear in May. Starting in June, rangers started to receive reports that the bear had obtained food from unattended backpacks near Garnet Canyon, Surprise and Amphitheater lakes, and the Lupine Meadows parking area.

Around Surprise Lake, the bear investigated unoccupied tents, tearing into one, and ate a tube of sunscreen. The bear’s presence in Garnet Canyon prompted the park to issue a mandatory bear-canistor food storage requirement, but the animal continued to receive human food.

On Aug. 18, park officials captured and radio collared the animal and relocated her to the Grassy Lake Road at the north end of the park, but she returned four days later. According to Grand Teton spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs, the bear then grew even more bold, seeking out food in the Lupine Meadows and Surprise Lake areas. “Her focus on this area where she had been getting some food led her right back to this location,” Skaggs said, explaining that the GPS collar left a clear trail of the animal’s transgressions.

Skaggs said that even one human food reward can lead to a “downward spiral” that eventually results in the bear losing its fear of humans, getting too bold, and getting killed to protect human safety.

Grand Teton visitors are reminded to; never leave food or backpacks unattended, even for a minute; use available storage facilities when camping, or secure food in your car; dispose of garbage in bear-proof garbage cans provided at all campgrounds; when camping in the backcountry, hang food and scented items using the counter-balance method; never run from a bear, and do not drop your backpack if a bear charges you.