Person attacked by grizzly bear in West Yellowstone

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mdtrot
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:57 pm
Location: East Texas

Person attacked by grizzly bear in West Yellowstone

Post by mdtrot »

When I saw the title, I thought, wow, right in West Yellowstone. But it was actually near a campground north of town.

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2021/04/p ... llowstone/



karenandbill
Posts: 208
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:55 am

Re: Person attacked by grizzly bear in West Yellowstone

Post by karenandbill »

They have killed a bear in that area, not knowing if it was the bear that carried out the attack or not. 7 men went in and a bear bluff charged them so they shot him. There was a moose carcass in the area that the bear was apparently defending.

Why didn't they just close the area until the bear moved on? The area is still closed. Why did they have to kill the bear??? Read the article under Yellowstone News and that gives the answer.



mdtrot
Posts: 143
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:57 pm
Location: East Texas

Re: Person attacked by grizzly bear in West Yellowstone

Post by mdtrot »

Well, how do you know it would have been limited to a bluff charge? I'd say that a bear that killed a man and then charged at seven men is a bear with no fear of humans and will continue to be a very dangerous bear to other park visitors. People do come first.



karenandbill
Posts: 208
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:55 am

Re: Person attacked by grizzly bear in West Yellowstone

Post by karenandbill »

I agree that humans do come first. I am sorry the man passed away. I would not have been as glib in my response had I known his injuries were so serious.

On the other hand the man was a local, very familiar with the risks of hiking, especially alone, in bear country. The bear was defending a moose carcass, not engaging in predacious behavior. I make the same choice every time I choose to hike in this area. To remove that risk you would have to remove all the bears. I recognize the risks and choose to hike anyway.

It is a complicated issue, and there are certainly times when a problem/predatory bear must be killed in order to protect people. Upon reflection, killing the bear may have been justified in this case, especially with it being so close to town. However, a couple of years ago a hunting guide was killed by a mother bear in a very remote area after tracking a bow wounded elk for more than 24 hours. The bears got to the elk first and when the guide and his companion appeared, the bears attacked. These bears were subsequently killed. Was this justified? In my opinion, no. The guide knew he was in bear country. He knew that a wounded elk could very easily attract bears and he ignored all the common sense protocols.

If we want to have grizzly bears in the ecosystem, unfortunately, these incidents will occur. They are relatively rare considering all the factors involved and we can do certain things to minimize them. But even if we do all the right things, they won't be totally eliminated.

Bill



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