MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – Yellowstone National Park officials trapped and euthanized an 11-year-old male grizzly bear on Wednesday, May 14, after it consistently sought out human food in developed areas of the park. The bear, weighing approximately 400 pounds, had overturned multiple large, bear-resistant dumpsters and accessed human food and trash at popular locations, including Old Faithful, the Nez Perce Picnic Area, and the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot.

Notably, the bear developed a strategy to flip over 800-pound dumpsters and uproot smaller bear-resistant trash cans from their concrete bases to obtain human food and garbage. Due to these actions, the bear became increasingly food-conditioned and posed a safety risk to visitors in one of Yellowstone's busiest areas. The decision to kill the bear was made in the interest of public safety and to prevent other bears from becoming habituated to human food.

The last instance of a grizzly bear being removed as part of a management action in Yellowstone occurred in September 2017, when a bear was euthanized for damaging tents and accessing food at backcountry campsites near Heart Lake.

“It’s unfortunate that this bear began regularly seeking out garbage and was able to defeat the park’s bear-resistant infrastructure,” said Kerry Gunther, a bear management biologist at Yellowstone. “We go to great lengths to protect bears and prevent them from becoming conditioned to human food. But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. When that happens, we sometimes have to remove the bear from the population to protect visitors and property.”

Yellowstone's bear management plan includes the installation of bear-resistant food storage lockers in all campgrounds, food storage devices in backcountry campsites, and bear-resistant garbage cans and dumpsters. Park officials remind visitors that utilizing these bear safety measures is crucial for ensuring public safety and preventing wildlife from developing dangerous habits. For more information, visit nps.gov.

Parts of this story were converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.