A group of visitors to Grand Teton National Park got an ursine shock this past week when a hungry, 178-pound black bear climbed up onto their picnic table while the were eating.

The bold move prompted park officials to kill the animal yesterday afternoon.

The 5-year-old male is one of two black bears that, together, have received numerous food rewards around the Colter Bay area over the past two weeks. Authorities are still searching for the accomplice, a 3-year-old, radio-collared female that disappeared after rangers captured the male bear Tuesday night.

Both bears lost their fear of humans and regularly approached park visitors. “They have been frequenting the campground, the RV park, the swim beach, the picnic area... all in and around the Colter Bay Village,” said park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs.

“When they get to that point and they’ve lost their shyness around people, there’s a concern for human safety,” Skaggs continued.

The park will most likely kill the female too, if and when she is captured. The male bear killed yesterday had been captured once for research purposes, and had been tagged but not radio collared.It is only the second problem bear park officials have had to kill in the past two years.

Skaggs said that the death of these bears might have been averted had park visitors been more careful about locking up food and garbage in cars or bear proof containers.

“There have been numerous food violations in recent weeks,” she said. “People who have been negligent about leaving food and coolers unattended. We do have a concerted food education program. The responsibility is on the campers and picnickers to abide by the proper food storage regulations.”

Valley residents have been spotting bears in subdivisions as well and at least four bears have gotten into garbage or birdfeeders, said Leon Chartrand, Game and Fish Bear Wise Community Planner

Chartrand said it was hard to tell if bear sightings were up this year because reports of bears from residents are not always reliable or verifiable but the department “has been getting a lot of reports.”

The majority of those reports have come from subdivisions near Grand Teton National Park.

Bears sighted in Teton Village and Pacific Creek have not been repeat offenders and Chartrand speculated they had moved on to natural forage. In Solitude, a bear has passed through the subdivision repeatedly but has not gotten into any food.

Surprisingly, Chartrand said that the group most likely to use leave out garbage and not protect their bird-feeders was long-term residents and some second homeowners. “Vacation rental properties are pretty goodabout educating their customers,” he said.

Chartrand said he would not classify the animals as a “nuisance” and would not try to relocate them as long as the bears did not return to feed.

“They were on the verge of being problem bears,” he said. “We were fortunate  enough to meet with people and got them to put their garbage away.”

In late spring, Chartrand had to relocate a young female black bear from Teton Village after it repeatedly fed on garbage.

“Anywhere in Teton County essentially carries some risk of bears and people coming together in a confrontation situation,” Chartrand said. “People hiking and biking around Teton Village, near Cache Creek and Game Creek, even on the backside of Snow King, should keep an eye out.”