A 4-year-old black bear sow was put down in Glacier National Park because it lost its fear of humans/NPS file
A black bear at Glacier National Park in Montana was put down after it developed a taste for human food and lost its fear of park visitors, according to park staff.
The bear was euthanized Thursday in the Many Glacier area after it had obtained human foods and exhibited behavior that put humans at risk, a park release said.
On Saturday, August 28, the black bear was reported moving through the Many Glacier Campground and was not readily responsive to attempts to move it out of campsites. The next day the bear returned and was observed snatching apples out of an open trunk while visitors were nearby packing their vehicle. The bear then proceeded to eat the apples at the campsite, exhibiting little fear of humans.
While park staff attempted to verbally haze the bear out of the campground, the bear tried to stop at another campsite where people were preparing breakfast. After being hazed out into the woods, the bear returned half an hour later, the release said.
Based on photographs and visitor reports, it is possible this could be the same bear that was approaching people and exhibiting unusual behavior near Grinnell Lake last week, resulting in closure of the Grinnell Lake trail on August 25. DNA samples collected from both sites will be tested and compared to determine if the same animal was involved in both incidents.
On Wednesday, September 1, the adult female bear was trapped in a culvert trap near the Many Glacier housing area.
In accordance with Glacier National Park’s Bear Management Plan, and in consultation with park wildlife biologists, the bear was euthanized. The bear was estimated to be around four years old and weighed approximately 120 pounds. A field necropsy revealed it to be in otherwise healthy condition.
Many Glacier Campground recently restricted campers to hard-sided vehicles due to the presence of the bear. The campground is now open to all camper types again, including tents.
Food-conditioned bears are those that have sought and obtained human foods, destroyed property, or displayed aggressive, non-defensive behavior towards humans and are removed from the wild. Given this bear’s behavior and successful acquisition of human foods the decision was made to remove the animal from the park, the release explained.
Once a bear has become food-conditioned, hazing, and aversive conditioning are unlikely to be successful in reversing this type of behavior. Food-conditioned bears are not relocated due to human safety concerns.
Black bears are not good candidates for animal capture facilities such as zoos and animal parks due to the plentiful nature of the species throughout the United States.
Visitors are reminded to keep campgrounds and developed areas clean and free of food and trash. Local residents and businesses located in and around the park are reminded to secure all types of non-natural food sources including garbage, livestock feed, pet food, bird seed, and hummingbird feeders.
If you see a bear along the road, please do not stop. Stopping and watching roadside bears will likely start a "bear jam" as other motorists follow your lead. "Bear jams" are hazardous to both people and bears as they limit visibility, restrict the movement of the bear, and have the potential to increase the likelihood of the bear approaching cars and people in the future. Report all bear sightings to the nearest ranger.
Glacier National Park is home to both black and grizzly bears. Hikers are highly encouraged to hike in groups, make noise when hiking, and have bear spray accessible and know how to use it.
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Comments
Why couldn't the bear be located to a wild life rescue like Lions, Tigers and Bears in San Diego, CA County?
if the bear didn't attack anyone they murdered this bear so humans would feel safe, the park is his home
Enforce the law or quit!!!!
I am really getting sick and tired of the half ass methods used to protect Bears from people, all of the garbage containers are suppose to be locked and bear proof. These people who are responsible for not properly stowing their garbage, or just leaving food out for the Bears need to be prosecuted and not just a slap on the hand, instead with high fines and jail time. The psychopaths who killed the Bear, instead of Tranquilizing it and sending it to a nature reserve to live out the rest of its life, need to be working a job away from wildlife. I realize the park is just a money maker using wildlife as a lure to get people to come to the park and spend money. When I was hiking in Glacier National Park I brought big garbage bags to take my garbage and any one else garbage I find out with me, I took precautions by not having as much as a raisin in my tent, I took the cloths I cooked in and all my food and put it in the garbage bags and with a long rope, found a tall tree over 100 feet away and lifted the garbage bag 20 feet in the air out on a branch I knew was out far enough so a Bear could not get to it. People are not good stewards of the land, since 1960 people have caused over a million species of animals to become extinct.
I couldn't have said it better. It makes me sick when an animal is just being an animal and man has to come around and regulate its behavior instead of his own. The bear was being a bear and man made it easier for him to get food. So why shouldn't the bear take the easy way? Did they really have to kill it? There's plenty of space on Planet Earth they could've dropped the bear off at.
Ray, from everything I've ever read, the problem is that this bear associated people with food. Once that happens, the association is almost impossible to undo. She would have continued to keep coming in too close proximity to humans, and there was too high a chance of her eventually attacking people once she associated them with being a food source. I'm no wildlife expert, but even I know it's so important for us not to feed wildlife for various reasons - from bears all the way through rodents and birds. I'm 100% sure the decision wasn't made lightly and the authorities carried it out with very heavy hearts.
I share your anger and frustration. This bear was healthy and died because humans massively screwed up and fatally altered her behavior. It's beyond infuriating that they clearly didn't read even basic park literature upon arrival. Whenever I go to a park, I research what the local wildlife is, what parts of the park they're likely to be in, and refresh myself how to act around each of them should I encounter them - precisely because I'm not a regular who knows what I'm doing. This tragedy could so easily have been avoided.
It's remarkable how emotional people become over animals.
Good luck dissauding park visitors from stopping along roadways to view wildlife. After all, that's one of the main attractions (and purposes) of a national park system. The alternative is more zoos. "Bear jams" are an unalterable consequence of a visiting public and has nothing to do with euthenanization decisions of wildlife.
The bear did nothing wrong. It was the human who violated the policy of leaving food out for the bears. We should punish the humans with fines and perhaps jail time and not kill the bears. This was a young and
healthy bear and deserved to live out the rest of her life. Humans are the intruders in this park and not the bears. Lets police human behavior and leave the bears alone.