by In a striking example of how wildlife can adapt to human presence, Yellowstone National Park officials have euthanized an 11-year-old male grizzly bear that repeatedly breached bear-resistant trash containers and accessed human food in multiple high-traffic areas of the park.
Between early April and mid-May, the 400-pound bear overturned several 800-pound dumpsters and tore smaller trash cans from their concrete bases in pursuit of an easy meal. The bear’s activities were documented near Old Faithful, the Nez Perce Picnic Area, and the Midway Geyser Basin parking lot—some of the most visited locations in the park.
Despite Yellowstone’s extensive efforts to deter wildlife from human food sources, the bear’s persistence and ingenuity raised serious safety concerns. Over time, it became food-conditioned, a behavior that often leads to repeated and increasingly bold attempts to obtain human food, and a higher risk to visitors.
“It’s unfortunate that this bear began regularly seeking out garbage and was able to defeat the park’s bear-resistant infrastructure,” said 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.”
Officials say the decision to trap and euthanize the animal on May 14 was made in alignment with the park’s bear management plan, which seeks to prevent dangerous human-bear encounters and stop problematic behavior from spreading to other bears.
The last grizzly euthanized under similar circumstances in Yellowstone was in 2017, after a bear damaged tents and repeatedly accessed food in remote backcountry campsites.
Yellowstone has invested heavily in bear-resistant infrastructure, including specialized dumpsters, food storage lockers in all campgrounds, and mandatory food storage devices in backcountry sites. But even the best tools require proper use by visitors.
The park continues to urge all guests to follow food storage rules carefully and dispose of waste in designated, bear-resistant containers. As this incident highlights, even a single lapse can have serious consequences for people and for the wildlife Yellowstone is meant to protect.
You may be asking why the bear wasn’t relocated to a zoo or somewhere else. Here is the response to that via Yellowstone National Park:
For those asking, why not relocate or send the bear to a zoo?
The short answer is: it doesn’t work.
Bears exhibit strong fidelity to their established home ranges, where they are familiar with seasonal food availability and their position within the local social hierarchy. In Yellowstone, relocating bears is not an effective long-term solution, as it is not possible to move them far enough to prevent their return to the original conflict site or to ensure they won’t encounter similar conflict opportunities in the relocation area.
Our long-term monitoring of relocated bears confirms very low success rates in the park. Since the 1970s, 54% of grizzly bears that were involved in conflicts and relocated in Yellowstone caused more conflicts after their relocation.
In rare cases, young bears that are still dependent on their mothers can be sent to a zoo. Wild, adult bears are not candidates for rehoming in a zoo.
Images via Yellowstone National Park:
