Aggressive Bear Killed After Raiding Campsites

An aggressive grizzly was captured and killed by biologists in Yellowstone last week after repeated attempts to deter the animal from raiding campsites failed.
Yellowstone National Park officials say the immature male grizzly was killed September 8 near Heart Lake in the southern part of the Park. They say this bear began exhibiting bold behavior around people two years ago – at that time, Game and Fish captured the bear, tagged it, and relocated it to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
The next year, the same bear entered campsites in the Heart Lake area of Yellowstone and destroyed backpackers’ tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads. Park Service staff attempted to change the bear’s dangerous behavior through the use of electric decoy tents, electric food sack decoys, and by hazing with bean bag rounds, rubber bullets, and cracker shells, but all attempts to ward off or trap the bear failed.
Hikers reported observing the bear around campsites and investigating tents in the Heart Lake area this year. On the evening of August 26, the bear forced a group of three backpackers out of their campsite near Heart Lake and consumed all of their food. In response, Yellowstone closed the area to backcountry camping on August 27 and set traps for the bear on September 1. The bear was captured and killed on the morning of September 8.