A 4-year-old feminine black bear in Glacier National Park needed to be euthanized, and one other black bear and her cub may face an analogous destiny, because of publicity to human meals.
The bear that was put down was relocated from the close by city of Kalispell in 2022. Final yr, she was noticed within the West Glacier space of the nationwide park. Noticed once more this yr, the bear was noticed to have a rise in “food-conditioned habits” and aggressively tried to enter automobiles and buildings on non-public property contained in the park. Finally the bear bought into at the least one constructing and a automobile and on June 5 was euthanized in West Glacier.
Two days later, a portion of Going-to-the-Sun Road open to hikers and bikers was shut down after a feminine black bear with a cub born this yr was in a position to steal meals from an unattended backpack. Wildlife rangers try to discourage the food-seeking habits. If they can not, each bears may need to be relocated or euthanized.
Black bears will eat virtually something, together with meals from people/NPS
Each incidents are blamed on “human meals rewards,” which embody any type of meals for people or animals, trash and campsite provisions. Black bears will eat virtually something and might determine meals by each scent and look.
As soon as a bear has a style of a human meals reward, it is vitally more likely to develop into meals conditioned and over time make bolder and extra aggressive strikes to accumulate meals from folks. Meals conditioned bears could be taught to frequent campgrounds and picnic areas, or method automobiles. The habits turns into irreversible and meals conditioned bears are sometimes euthanized due to their menace to people.
In 2023, a grizzly bear was put down after it grabbed meals from a picnic desk within the Many Glacier space of the park, charged a household picnicking on the shoreline of Swiftcurrent Lake and stole drinks that have been left cooling within the lake.
And earlier this yr, a 400-pound grizzly was euthanized in Yellowstone Nationwide Park after flipping bear-resistant dumpsters.
Folks will help hold bears and themselves secure by all the time following the following tips:
- At all times hold your pack with you.
- By no means go away meals, rubbish, or something used to organize, devour, retailer, or transport meals unattended.
- Safe all meals and scented gadgets safely and pack out all rubbish. Non-food scented gadgets embody issues like toiletries and sunscreen.
- Do not cease close to bears alongside a highway. Journey at the least 100 yards and pull over in a secure viewing location. Roadside bears shortly develop into use to visitors and folks making them extra more likely to method or get hit by a automobile.
- Report all bear sightings to the closest ranger.
Discover extra details about recreating in bear nation at Bear Safety – Glacier National Park (U.S. National Park Service).
