Let's pour one out for our poor pal, Smokey. Okay, so that may not have been this sad grizzly's name, but I can't help but try to think of a way to immortalize it. Yellowstone officials sadly were forced to euthanize the grizzly bear, which weighed more than 400 pounds, after it started ransacking dumpsters in the park.
Yellowstone officials felt that the animal posed a risk to tourists and humans in the park. So they made a difficult decision to euthanize the creature after the grizzly bear "repeatedly sought out human food sources in developed areas of the park."
According to a press release from the National Park Service, park officials at Yellowstone managed to trap the bear. From there, they euthanized the 11-year-old grizzly. It's crime: overturning several bear—resistant dumpsters at the park. These were located near Old Faithful and other popular areas. Once the animal got a taste for human food, there was really nothing park officials could do.
Grizzly Bear Euthanized
Their hands were tied. They felt that the bear would keep coming for the dumpsters, being motivated by food. That would put the creature on a direct path with people, leading to a potential tragedy.
"Dumpsters, the bear also uprooted smaller bear-resistant trash cans from their concrete bases to gain access to human food and garbage," the NPS said.
"As a result, the bear became increasingly food-conditioned and posed a risk to public safety in one of the busiest areas of the park," the statement continued. "The decision to kill the bear was made to ensure public safety and reduce the chances of other bears becoming habituated to human food."
Some park officials mourned the death of the grizzly bear. But they noted that it was a necessary measure.
"It's unfortunate that this bear began regularly seeking out garbage and was able to defeat the park's bear-resistant infrastructure," Yellowstone Bear Management Biologist Kerry Gunther said in the press release.
"We go to great lengths to protect bears and prevent them from becoming conditioned to human food," Gunther said. "But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. When that happens, we sometimes have to remove the bear from the population to protect visitors and property."
It's been nearly 10 years since a grizzly bear was euthanized at Yellowstone National Park.
