GTNP kills another bear

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

By PJH Staff

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Park biologists at Grand Teton National Park euthanized a 60-pound yearling male black bear on Monday Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott announced in a press release on Tuesday. The bear was euthanized “out of concern for public safety,” the press release stated.

The bear exhibited “increasingly frequent and bold behavior toward park visitors and campers in attempts to get their food.” This behavior “forced park officials to make the difficult decision to remove [it] from the population,” it continued.

Officials became familiar with the bear as early as June when it was reportedly sighted near Inspiration Point, a popular spot overlooking Jenny Lake.

Early reports indicated that he approached within two feet of visitors in one late July incident. Other reports of the bear in human-inhabited areas occurred throughout July and August. In early August, it was reported that the bear had received a food award when people left food unattended at Inspiration Point.

The bear became bolder as he repeatedly acquired food from people, once at Inspiration Point and then repeatedly at the Jenny Lake Campground and along the shores of Jenny Lake, the release said. By the first week of September, near-daily reports of human encounters with the bear were filed, and “he showed no fear of humans by this time,” the release said. He reportedly approached families at picnic sites, walked around cars in parking areas and put his paws up on a cabin window. 

Grand Teton National Park biologists “determined that this bear was not a good candidate for relocation or rehabilitation because of the extent of his activities,” the release said.

The number of bears that have been euthanized in the area this summer is somewhere in the double-digits, according to a Game and Fish official.


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GTNP kills another bear | Planet JH News Article: General Environment

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