Park: Tourists not to blame in bear death
By Noah Brenner, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
July 14, 2008
A Yellowstone National Park official said Friday that actions of park visitors did not lead to the death of a black bear that aggressively sought human food.
Yellowstone National Park spokesman Al Nash said he was unsure how the bear had become so habituated to humans but he did not believe the actions of people camping and picnicking in the park led to the bear’s eventual euthanization.
“This did not occur because we felt visitors were taking inappropriate action,” Nash said in a phone interview. “But whenever we have an instance, we feel it is important to reinforce that educational message that appropriate behavior by visitors results in a good situation for bears.”
Rangers in Yellowstone trapped and removed the young male black bear Thursday after determining its aggressive behavior posed a continuing threat to the safety of park visitors and employees.
On several occasions in the past two weeks, the brown-colored sub-adult bear had aggressively approached visitors in the Beaver Lake Picnic Area and the Indian Creek Campground, according to a press release. Rangers determined the bear was able to obtain a significant amount of human food.
“The bear was approaching people as they were eating and chasing them away from their picnic,” Nash said.
Repeated efforts by rangers to trap the bear near the picnic area and campground were unsuccessful. However, it was spotted walking next to a road Wednesday morning, allowing the animal to be successfully darted and captured by park staff members.
The bear was transported to park headquarters at Mammoth Hot Springs and, because of its repeated aggressive behavior, rangers euthanized it Thursday morning. Nash said the bear had not been captured before for approaching humans, but the sheer number of recent instances and its aggressive behavior left rangers no option to relocate the bear.
“We had multiple instances where this bear was approaching people to get food,” he said. “We don’t have to wait years to make that decision.”
It was the first time in two years that park staff has had to kill a problem bear. Nash attributed the park’s success in keeping bears and people safe from each other to its visitor education programs.
“Over the years we have worked very hard to educate visitors to their role in storing food safely, which directly results in a successful management of bears,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we don’t have the occasional instance but it is a rarity here.”
In the event that a bear does come in conflict with humans, killing the animal is a last resort, Nash said.
“In those instances by hazing a bear or occasionally trapping and relocating it, we remove that bear from an inappropriate situation,” Nash said, “which results in better safety for visitors and allows that bear to continue to live out in a wild environment.”
Park regulations require visitors to stay a hundred yards away from black and grizzly bears at all times.
If approached by a bear in a picnic area or campsite, visitors are advised to gather up all food and cooking utensils and get inside a vehicle or hard-sided pick-up camper, trailer or recreational vehicle.
When not in use, food, garbage, barbecue grills and other attractants must be stored in hard-sided vehicles or bear-proof food storage boxes.
