Bear euthanized in Grand Teton after being food-conditioned by visitors: Officials
A black bear in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming was euthanized on Friday, Sept. 11, after visitors repeatedly left food behind, raising safety concerns, according to park authorities.
The bear received multiple human food rewards and repeatedly approached people, leading Grand Teton staff to determine the behavior was consistent with conditioning to human foods, Grand Teton National Park wrote in a Facebook post.
After monitoring the situation, park managers found the bear unusually difficult to scare away and said its escalating proximity to humans posed a safety risk that was deemed unacceptable, according to the national park.
The bear was immobilized with a tranquilizing dart and then euthanized on site at Delta Lake inside the park, a remote backcountry location, according to park authorities.
"We need to be clear--this bear was lethally removed because of poor decisions made by park visitors. It is everyone's responsibility to help keep bears wild: Never leave food unattended, even for a moment," Grand Teton stated in a Facebook post.
Grand Teton instructed visitors to gather all belongings, especially food, if a bear approaches.
"A bear that gets a food reward can learn that approaching people pays off," Grand Teton wrote in its post. "What may seem like a small decision in the moment can have serious consequences for the bear, other visitors and park staff."
The incident comes amid an increase in bear run-ins with humans in Western states, particularly as drought conditions and record-high heat push bears to seek alternative foods as their natural food sources grow scarce, officials say.
"There's not a lot [of] natural food out there for the bears. When there's less natural food for the bears, they have to move," Joey Livingston, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, previously told ABC News. "They're way more likely to search out those food sources in years where there's not enough natural food, which is exactly what we are seeing this year."
