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Bears Coming Out Of Their Dens In Yellowstone National Park

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Published Date

March 2, 2016
Grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park/NPS

Grizzly bears are starting to emerge from their dens in Yellowstone and the greater Yellowstone ecosystem/NPS, Neal Herbert

While the spring opening of Yellowstone National Park's roads is still some weeks off, anyone visiting the park on foot, ski, snowshoe, snowmobile, or snowcoach should know that grizzly bears are starting to come out of their dens.

Park officials say the first confirmed report of grizzly bear activity in the park was February 22 when wolf biologists observed a large grizzly in the Nez Perce drainage.

Bears begin looking for food soon after they emerge from their dens, a park release notes. "They are attracted to elk and bison that have died during the winter. Carcasses are an important food source, so bears will sometimes react aggressively while feeding on them," the release added.

The park implements seasonal bear management area closures to reduce encounters between bears and humans in areas where there is a high density of elk and bison carcasses. Visit this site for a listing of bear closures.

Yellowstone regulations require visitors to stay 100 yards from black and grizzly bears at all times. The best defense is to stay a safe distance from bears and use binoculars, a telescope or telephoto lens to get a closer look. While firearms are allowed in the park, the discharge of a firearm by visitors is a violation of park regulations. The park’s law enforcement rangers who carry firearms on duty rely on bear spray, rather than their weapons, as the most effective means to deal with a bear encounter, according to park officials.

Visitors must keep food, garbage, barbecue grills and other attractants stored in hard-sided vehicles or bear-proof food storage boxes. 

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Comments

Submitted by Corinne Garrett on March 10, 2016 - 8:07am.

We are visiting Yosimite in a couple of weeks.  I imagine it will be the same story there as well?  Looking forward to spotting a bear, but not too close by.


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