A grizzly that developed a taste for human foods in the Wonder Lake area of Denali National Park has been put down/Rebecca Latson file

A grizzly bear that gained a taste for human foods by breaking into facilities in the Kantishna/Wonder Lake area of Denali National Park and Preserve was put down as it was deemed unredeemable and posed a safety concern for people.

“Removing a bear from the ecosystem is a rare event in Denali,“ said Tom Medema, acting superintendent. “Our mandate is to preserve and protect both wildlife and human life, and these types of actions are very difficult and weigh heavily on park staff.”

Last Thursday a bear was caught in a culvert trap, immobilized, and positively identified as the target bear by wildlife staff. 

According to a park release, "(T)he euthanized bear was a large, young adult male. This particular bear is suspected of breaking into several facilities in the Kantishna/Wonder Lake area and gaining access to foodstuffs as far back as the fall 2019. This May, while removing snow in preparation for the park’s spring opening, road crews discovered significant damage to facilities in the Kantishna/Wonder Lake area that was consistent with bear activity."

The bear was humanely euthanized and transported to Fairbanks for necropsy by an Alaska Department of Fish and Game veterinarian.

Park staff work hard to balance the safety of visitors with the responsibility to steward wildlife and maintain natural spaces. The park has managed several bears this season, particularly in the Savage River area. Most bears respond appropriately to negative reinforcement techniques that haze them away from areas where they may gain access to food or have increased interactions with the public. While the Kantishna/Wonder Lake area is visited by a number of bears, most never gain access to food and seek to avoid human contact.

“Gaining access to unnatural foods created a circumstance that threatened the safety of visitors and staff, and resulted in the loss of this animal,” said Dave Schirokauer, the park's science and resources team leader. “This is a sad and important reminder that keeping bears away from human and pet food, as well as garbage, is the most effective way to prevent conflicts between bears and people.”

Food draws bears into neighborhoods and campsites, and food-conditioned bears can be aggressive and destructive. It is against the law to intentionally feed wildlife, or to negligently allow for wildlife to become attracted to human foodstuffs.