Yellowstone grizzly euthanized, cubs sent to facility

[uppityperson]

http://www.ktvq.com/story/29781489/park-officials-death-of-billings-man-confirmed-yellowstone-grizzly-euthanized

Park officials: Death of Billings man confirmed, Yellowstone grizzly euthanized
By YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS SERVICE
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Results from genetic (DNA) analysis of bear hair samples collected next to Crosby’s body confirmed the adult female grizzly bear that was captured at the scene on the night the body was discovered was the bear involved in the fatal attack.

Additional support beyond the DNA evidence that this female was the bear involved in the attack include: The bear and cubs were at the attack site when Crosby’s body was found by park rangers; bear tracks of a female with cubs were found at Crosby’s body; this bear was captured at the fatality site within 24 hours of the body being found; and canine puncture wounds inflicted on the victim are consistent with the bite size of the female captured at the site.
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An important fact in the decision to euthanize the bear was that a significant portion of the body was consumed and cached with the intent to return for further feeding. Normal defensive attacks by female bears defending their young do not involve consumption of the victim’s body.

Arrangements have been made to transfer the bear’s two cubs to a facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The AZA sets strict standards for facilities with regard to animal handling and care. Details of this placement are still being finalized. The facility is expected to make an announcement on Friday.

[KamaAina]

1. So the lions and rhinos can drink out of them?

I assume you meant "cubs sent to zoo".

[uppityperson]

4. picky picky picky. Darn autocorrect

[KamaAina]

13. Would autocorrect saddle us with the Chicago Cups?

Of course, given the number of bars around Wrigley, that would actually work.

[virgogal]

2. I didn't know that cosumption of the

body would be the deciding factor here.

I learn something every day.

[uppityperson]

5. There is a big difference between defending your cubs and acting on eating a person.

[markpkessinger]

12. Grizzlies are top predators . . .

. . . and, like all bears, they are opportunists when it come to food. The notion that a mama grizzly, having defended (in her eyes) her cubs, would then pass up a potential food source for her and her cubs is simply ludicrous!

[uppityperson]

22. A mama bear charged me, then ran off. I didn't get eaten.

AK bush, with an infant strapped to me. I had my pepper spray out when she veered away so didn't have to use it. I was very glad she ran off.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

41. Yikes.

... bring me my brown trousers....

[markpkessinger]

42. I'm glad you weren't eaten, too!

Thankfully, you were prepared with bear spray. I have since read a little more about this incident. Seems the guy was hiking alone, was off trail, and was carrying no bear spray nor wearing any 'bear bells.' In other words, he did everything park rangers tel people NOT to do. He was courting disaster and, unfortunately for him and for the bear, he found it.

[Beaverhausen]

3. They should send the cubs to the Appalachian Bear Rescue

not a zoo

http://appalachianbearrescue.org/

[uppityperson]

6. I was wrong, they sent to a "facility", accredited. I'm not sure where, looks like they'll

release that info later. I hope it was somewhere decent.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

15. The cubs have already eaten human flesh if mom has.

I think I read earlier that they would not release the cubs if that had happened. It's a learning experience that we definitely didn't want them to have.

[Beaverhausen]

25. Who's this "we"?

Bears are carnivores. They eat flesh. My god, why kill them for doing what they do instinctively?

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

33. "We" as in "the public"

Most bears will avoid humans, but any bear that has learned to eat human flesh, may actively seek out humans. Bears like that don't belong in a park where millions of people visit.

[Beaverhausen]

37. Well, that bear lives in the park. The humans are just visiting

It's very sad what happened to that hiker but I still don't think the cubs should be destroyed, let alone the mother.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

38. I don't think the cubs are going to be destroyed

nt

[GGJohn]

43. The cubs aren't being destroyed,

they've been sent to an accredited facility.

[HassleCat]

7. I still don't get it

Bears just hang out and do what bears do. That happens to include eating a human from time to time. So what? Grizzly bears are not so numerous you can't avoid them. If you are that worried about being eaten by a bear, go to Disney World or something. If someone gets trampled by a herd of bison, are we going to kill the whole herd? The next time someone gets killed in an avalanche, are we going to melt all the snow on the mountain? Drain the lake when somebody drowns? How far do we go to keep absolutely everyone absolutely safe? People who do things outdoors understand there are "objective dangers" involved in hiking, climbing, kayaking, cycling, etc. There are certain thing one cannot do without being exposed to some risk.

[City Lights]

10. I don't get it either.

It's not like the bear was wandering around a neighborhood. She was in Yellowstone. If she can't be a bear there, she can't be a bear anywhere.

[Hortensis]

11. It is that that this one bear has likely developed a new taste for hiker meat. Easy pickings too.

[markpkessinger]

20. Grizzlies are opportunistic predators , , ,

, , , and from the bear's point of view, meat is meat.

[Logical]

21. Your comparisons are silly.....

If after somebody drowned the lake on purpose drowned more people then we would prevent people from using lake or drain it .

[HassleCat]

26. Before you conclude that

I worked for the US Forest Service and we had a very popular hiking trail leading to the top of a big waterfall. At least once a year, we got a letter demanding we install handrails on the trail. When someone committed suicide by jumping from the top of the falls, there were demands to install suicide prevention fencing at the top.

[LanternWaste]

29. Often, that which advertises itself as logical is anything but.

Often, that which advertises itself as logical is anything but.

You are of course, correct, let bears be bears... and if someone is concerned with bear-ish behavior, simply avoid the last, few remaining sanctuaries we've reserved for them.

[Logical]

35. You are usual are wrong. But i think you know that. You just like posting. Nt

[Hortensis]

32. Funny, but how many demands? A great wave resulting in suicide fencing at all falls, perhaps?

[Logical]

36. People kill themselves. The trail does not kill them. The bears....

Kill people. Once they do and eat them they are likley to do it again.

Maybe a human life to you equals a bears. If so then our discussion is moot.

[TransitJohn]

47. Yellowstone kind of is Disney World

that's why the bear is being euthanized.

[Politicalboi]

8. Killing a poor bear for what she was supposed to do

Where do they come up with this shit about the bear being more dangerous to humans since it ate part of it. Bears eat raw meat. Grizzly bears are ALWAYS dangerous to humans. Instead of killing her, why didn't they take her and her babies to another location father away from humans. Animals doing what they're supposed to be doing, and stupid humans interfering and getting them killed.

[uppityperson]

9. Research has shown relocating bears doesn't work. They go back home, eating what they

are used to along the way. I wish relocating worked, but research has shown it doesn't.

[Hortensis]

18. Right, and let's not forget that nature tends to cull overly aggressive animals.

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

14. Bear has learned that humans are edible and tasty. Likely to look for this food source again. nt

[tabasco]

16. Humans have always been a food source for bears.

Preying on one human does not make a bear any more dangerous than it was before.

[Hortensis]

19. Actually, it really, really does. Check with the experts. The Park Service employs lots of them.

[Vinca]

17. This is ridiculous.

If you don't want to be eaten by a bear, stay out of the bear's home. The bear shouldn't die because a hiker was in its habitat.

[uppityperson]

23. The bear is dying because she ate and cached the hiker. Not because a hiker was in her

habitat.

It is a sad situation for all beings concerned.

[Vinca]

28. This took place in the forest, correct?

[uppityperson]

39. Yes, but the bear didn't "die because a hiker was in its habitat" but because she ate and stored

the remains to finish eating later. She wasn't killed simply because "a hiker was in its habitat."

[CatWoman]

45. I just can't understand why people can't comprehend this

[Vinca]

46. She was killing because she was hungry.

If she'd wandered into the suburbs and killed someone making barbeque in the backyard, it would be one thing, but she was in the woods. Where bears live. She was hunting and this guy didn't even have bear repellant with him. Sheesh! In addition, she had cubs. Is there anything more dangerous than a mama grizzly with cubs? I don't think so. People in this country have the mindset that everything harmful must be killed. Which reminds me, he was allowed to carry a firearm into the national park so he might have defended himself when attacked. But he didn't. If I went scuba diving with great whites outside a cage, I'd expect to get eaten. Why is hiking alone in a national park filled with grizzly bears and mountain lions any different?

[hamsterjill]

24. While I do realize that human beings must be protected - - -

Why is it that I always root for the animal (in this case, the bear)?

I guess it's because I've seen too many perfectly sweet dogs who have been teased and tortured to the point where they've ultimately bitten someone and have been ordered to be put down.

[alarimer]

48. I root for the animals because people suck, generally.

Too many people are awful to animals.

[DCBob]

27. As a hiker I agree with this.

That bear would likely go after a hiker again.

[leftyladyfrommo]

30. I think it's kind of like with tigers.

Once they realize how easy it is to kill people they just do it again. It's just too dangerous in a park where there are thousands of hikers each year.

Most bears have learned to stay away from humans. They run from human activity.

Aren't hikers supposed to wear bells and make lots of noise when they are in bear country? This hiker was so irresponsible. Now he's dead and so is the bear.

[tblue37]

31. Joke relevant to your question:

The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.

They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.

Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.

It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat. Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.

http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/joke/watch_for_bears-606.asp

[lonestarnot]

34. This report just pisses me off even more.

[sorefeet]

40. Well, guess what

the man was 65 year old EXPERIENCED hiker. He has ZERO bear spray or protection of any kind. He should have known you don't go in grizzly country unprepared. Maybe he decided how to go out on his own terms.

[AtomicKitten]

44. Why do we expect bears not to be bears?

We are encroaching on their home and habitat.

So sorry to hear the disposition. Yet again the bear bears - hey - the brunt of human arrogant domination.

[LisaL]

49. She ate one human, so she now knew humans could be a source of food.

So she was going to be a danger to other humans in the park. Kind of like man eating tigers who are also killed.