Bear Trapping Operations in YNP
Written by Andrew-Rossi on May 9, 2017
Early season visitors to Yellowstone are being reminded that grizzly bear trapping operations have begun in and around the park.
As part of ongoing efforts required under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, biologists with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team and Yellowstone National Park will be conducting scientific grizzly bear and black bear research operations in Yellowstone through July 30.
Officials point out that none of the trap sites in the park will be located near any established hiking trails or backcountry campsites, and all trap sites will have posted warnings for the closure perimeter. Potential access points will also be posted with warning signs for the closure area.
Backcountry users who come upon any of these posted areas are urged to heed the warnings and stay out of the area. In 2010, 70 year old Erwin Evert was killed by a grizzly bear waking from a tranquilizer after it was trapped, sedated and studied. The unfortunate incident raised new concerns that groggy bears may exhibit aggressive tendencies toward humans.
