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.
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 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 !
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!