A black bear was killed in Yellowstone after it became “habituated and food-conditioned.” This is not the black bear in question. Photo: Unsplash
Yellowstone National Park staff killed a black bear after it became “habituated and food-conditioned,” which means it figured out that people are often sources of food.
“On June 7, the bear crushed an unoccupied tent at the campsite,” park staff wrote. “A few weeks later, on July 11, the bear climbed the site’s food storage pole, tore down properly stored food bags, and consumed the campers’ food. Although it is uncommon for bears in Yellowstone to obtain human food, when it does occur, bears can quickly become food-conditioned and may act aggressively or dangerously around humans, putting both people and wildlife at risk.”
I live in an area with more than a few black bears. They’re routinely getting into our trash and dragging it into the woods behind the house. One broke into a convenience store recently and stole a bag of gummy bears. They mean well, I think. They’re just hungry and we’re all living on their property. Around here, at least, most people know that letting a bear at your trash or food can mean death for the bear — and that’s our own fault, because the bear doesn’t know any better. We have bear-proof compost bins and try our very hardest to make it miserable for bears scavenging around the trash cans in the garage, and for the most part, it works. But every now and then, conservation officers are forced to euthanize one because it’s just too used to humans and our delicious garbage. It’s awful. That’s what happened at Yellowstone, and it was the first time in five years staff had been forced to do it.
“The bear’s escalating behavior – including property damage and obtaining a significant food reward – posed a clear threat to visitor safety and warranted removal,” they explained.
The bear was killed at around 5 p.m. on July 11 near Mammoth Hot Springs, a unique part of the sprawling National Park. The adult female black bear had been causing problems at a backcountry campsite located in the Blacktail Deer Creek drainage in the northern part of the park.
Park officials made the decision to kill the bear based on a few factors: ongoing concern for human safety, property damage to camping equipment, and the fact that the bear had figured out how to get around bear-deterrent methods like food storage poles.
Hanging a food bag and other attractants from a food storage pole in a backcountry campsite near Yellowstone Lake. Photo: NPS//Neal Herbert
“We go to great lengths to protect bears and prevent them from gaining access to human food in all areas of the park,” said Kerry Gunther, Yellowstone bear management biologist. “But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. When that happens, we sometimes have to make the difficult decision to remove the bear from the population to protect people and property.”
The last time a black bear was killed in Yellowstone was in July of 2020, when one injured a few campers while searching for human food at another backcountry campsite.
