For the third time in a week a national park black bear has been killed, this time in Yellowstone National Park where rangers said the bruin posed a threat to visitors and park employees.
The bear, which was a brown-hued sub-adult male, had been aggressively approaching visitors in the Beaver Lake Picnic Area and the Indian Creek Campground. It also was able to obtain a significant amount of human food.
Park officials say that based on the animal’s aggressive behavior, lack of fear of people, and its success at getting human food, the decision was made to capture and kill the bear.
Repeated efforts to trap the bear 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 taken to park headquarters at Mammoth Hot Springs and euthanized Thursday morning.
This is the first time Yellowstone National Park has euthanized a bear in over two years.
In the past seven days two other black bears were killed in the parks -- on in Denali National Park and Preserve and another in Grand Teton National Park.
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Comments
They captured the bear and then EUTHANIZED HIM ??? Why in heaven's name didn't they take him somewhere where he could be released ??
Because fuel costs too much these days.
You are out of your mind, the government spends Billions of our tax dollars every day and they can't expend a few gallons of gas. Get a life.
I agree, Fred. There are millions of acres where humans would not pose a threat to this bear in the surrounding states.
Keep on Jammin Fred!
Pete
because he was a threat to the well being of all humans in the park or even in the areas that they may have relocated him to.
i hate to see any animal killed but if it can not be safely moved to another area away from people then i guess that is the only ansrew that will not endanger the rangers or visitors. the black bear is a beautiful animal but can also be deadly to the average visitor as a child in tennesse i saw a black bear tear the front door off my aunts house as if it was nothing. if had not been for the dogs barking it would have gotten into the house. i learned that day to not just see a beautiful animal but to respect its power
texas
Perhaps, just perhaps, the fuel cost comment was intended as sarcasm.
A FED bear is a DEAD bear, why can't people learn this ?
Our government wants to open up more of our great wild places, make them more accessible to all. I say, stop building roads and stop off road vehicle traffic. Humans are doing enough damage with the current accessibility ! We can't even control human behaviour now, give wildlife a break and give them the respect and space they deserve !
Right on. If we have the money to build roads,home's, and park's in the wilderness, we should be able to protect the life of wilderness. This should be part of a permit to build. Thou shall not kill. Relocate,Relocate, as many times as it take's or keep people out, not the creature's. We can move a lot easier than they can.
Fred, the answer is in Kurt's article:
"Park officials say that based on the animal’s aggressive behavior, lack of fear of people, and its success at getting human food, the decision was made to capture and kill the bear."
Even relocating a bear that has no fear of people and has learned the ease of obtaining human food will simply move back to an area where he can easily obtain human food.
In my times in NP units, while the NPS workers/rangers issue a lot of material/information urging people not to allow bears easy access to food, I have never once seen a ranger issue a warning, ticket or summons for people not taking care of food. It will only be with committed enforcement of the rules, and tickets in the range of $100-200 that we'll see people's habits change. But I'm guessing it all comes down to funding, and having the time/manpower to patrol and do the diligence involved in cracking down on tourons who can't follow the rules, or don't understand the impact of their careless actions (or inactions).
Mookie, I agree with you that it all comes down to funding and or lack of time/manpower.
I believe that our park workers/rangers do a great job considering the amount of the area that they have to patrol, ( wilderness area ). It seems that people that don't follow the rules in wilderness areas, either don't care or don't stop to think about what events might take place due to their actions, ( or lack of ). I'm certain that if something happened to them or someone in their family, they would be the first to complain!
Why not relocate the bear? 1. Bears come back, sometimes from remarkable distances. 2. Do you want a habituated bear in your back yard? Most folks don't. People need to get past the University of Disney biology degree.
Hey Airport4, I paid good money for my University of Disney biology degree. With it I know more than the PhDs working in the field will ever know, and I can criticize the feds on whatever they do with bears, bison, chipmunks and aliens (they're not just in area 51 you know).
Habituated bears are dead bears. Period.
I agree, Fred. There are millions of acres in the surrounding areas of Yellowstone where humans would not pose a threat to this bear!
I agree, Fred. There are millions of acres in the surrounding areas of Yellowstone where humans would not pose a threat to this bear!
We went on vacation last year to yellow stone. It was in fact an awesome place and every one should see it. BUT I totally agree we have been moving in on nature and wild life...they were here first. While we were there, a woman was kicked out of the park because she was trying to get a picture of her baby on the back of a bison!!!!! People just don't get it. There bear learned to assoicate food with humans from........thats right humans. Until "we" humans learn to live and respect the world around us animals, plant life, air, water, ETC doesn't have a chance. And no I'm not a "tree hugger" I just realize the impact we have on our world. It goes beyond our back yard.
Mary
Mother Bear is sick, so Father Bear saw no alternative but to seek food in other places, a forest fire destroyed their food source last year, and fishing is slow as well. Baby Bear is hungry and Mother is getting weaker. They said their goodbye
with the thought of good fortune (food) tomorrow.. Baby Bear still waits by the rock Pappa Bear taught him only yesterday..........Pappa where are you??????????
I just got back from a weekend in Yellowstone. One of the sad things we saw was a coyote persistently looking through a picnic area in search of human scraps. Despite our efforts to keep him away by scowling at him, he continued on throughout the picnic area to another group of tourists. The tourists there had a dog. They were encouraging their dog to get into a fight with the coyote. This idiotic show - looking like a twisted version of what we've seen with wolves and coyotes on television - went on for awhile. Eventually, we left sensing too much danger for ourselves - with a 9-month-old baby. They wouldn't listen to us as we yelled warnings.
First, the coyote seemed to know there was food there. Then, what good does it do to encourage a dog fight? The owners seemed to be enjoying it.
Very disgusting. Otherwise, a very beautiful time in Yellowstone ... Lone Star Geyser and Mystic Falls with our son ... it was so lovely.
Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World
And an interesting twist on this!
7/14/08
Park: Tourists not to blame in bear death
(by Noah Brenner Jackson Hole News and Guide)
Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World