After attempts to haze a young grizzly away from campgrounds in northwest Wyoming failed, wildlife agents have killed the increasingly bold and aggressive bear, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
The bear had been acting “very bold” around people alongside roads and in campgrounds, and at one point started pushing on a tent, Game and Fish large carnivore specialist Dan Thompson told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.
The bear was killed July 14, he said.
Campgrounds Closed
The Beartooth Lake and Island Lake Campgrounds on the Clarks Fork Ranger District of the Shoshone National Forest were closed earlier this month for human safety because a “food-conditioned grizzly bear” was lurking there, according to the Forest Service.
Those campgrounds were reopened Monday.
The bear first showed up in the area last summer when it was 2 years old, Thompson said.
It was hazed “off the road multiple times,” Thompson said, but its behavior continued to escalate.
‘No One Likes Having To Put Down Wildlife’
The bear was killed because Game and Fish was out of options, Thompson said.
“That food-conditioned behavior can be very dangerous and I’m just proud of our personnel for being able to swiftly handle that situation for the sake of public safety,” Thompson said. “No one likes having to put down wildlife. We hate it, and it's one of the more distasteful parts of our vocation, but those types of scenarios have to be dealt with in that fashion.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
