by Nick PerkinsMay 15, 2025

• https://oilcity.news/national-park/2025/05/15/yellowstone-national-park-staff-trap-and-kill-11-year-old-grizzly-bear/

YELLOWSTONE, Wyo. — Yellowstone National Park staff trapped and killed an 11-year-old grizzly bear on Wednesday.

That’s according to a release from the park, which stated that the bear “repeatedly sought out human food sources in developed areas of the park.”

According to the release, the 400-pound grizzly bear overturned several bear-resistant dumpsters and gained access to human food and trash.

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This happened near Old Faithful, the Nez Perce Picnic Area and the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot.

“In addition to developing a strategy to flip over 800-pound dumpsters, the bear also uprooted smaller bear-resistant trash cans from their concrete bases to gain access to human food and garbage,” the release states. “As a result, the bear became increasingly food-conditioned and posed a risk to public safety in one of the busiest areas of the park. The decision to kill the bear was made to ensure public safety and reduce the chances of other bears becoming habituated to human food.”

The release notes that the last time a grizzly bear was killed in a management action in Yellowstone was in September 2017. That bear was damaging tents and accessing human food near Heart Lake.

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“It’s unfortunate that this bear began regularly seeking out garbage and was able to defeat the park’s bear-resistant infrastructure,” says 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.”

The release states that the park provides bear-resistant food storage lockers in all campgrounds and food storage devices in all backcountry campsites. It also offers bear-resistant garbage cans and dumpsters throughout the park, in accordance with the park’s bear management plan.

“Yellowstone reminds all visitors that utilizing these bear safety measures remain crucial in ensuring public safety and preventing wildlife from developing dangerous habits,” the release states.

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To learn more about Yellowstone National Park’s Bear Management program, visit the Yellowstone National Park website.