Yellowstone National Park officials kill bear that repeatedly broke into trash for human food

Yellowstone National Park officials trapped and killed an 11-year-old grizzly bear Tuesday after the bear continuously sought human food and overturned trash containers in busy areas of the park.

In a press release issued Wednesday, Yellowstone National Park officials said the 400-pound male grizzly bear posed a public safety threat in some of the busiest parts of the park.

Park officials also sought to prevent other bears from becoming habituated to human food.

According to park officials, the bear learned how to flip over 800-pound trash containers, repeatedly accessed human food and disturbed trash bins near Old Faithful, the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot and the Nez Perce Picnic Area.

“It’s unfortunate that this bear began regularly seeking out garbage and was able to defeat the park’s bear-resistant infrastructure,” said Yellowstone Bear Management Biologist Kerry Gunther. “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.”

It is the first grizzly bear killed through park management actions since 2017, when a different grizzly bear damaged tents and accessed human food near a backcountry campsite, Yellowstone officials said Wednesday.

Information about food storage and safety tips is available online at Yellowstone National Park’s website. Yellowstone rules prohibit the public from feeding wildlife, including bears, and require visitors to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves.