More Bears Spotted in Cody

It seems to many residents that there have been a high number of human-bear interactions in Park County this summer.
Just this last weekend, three black bears were found up a tree behind Walmart. Dale Cowan told the Powell Tribune that he called Game and Fish late Saturday afternoon after spotting the bears on his property just south of the Shoshone River on the West Strip in Cody. Luke Ellsbury with the Game and Fish Department deployed an air soft rifle to scare off the bears, who turned and ran in the direction of Rattlesnake Mountain.
Ellsbury pointed out that bears are expected on the Shoshone River at this time of year, so anyone recreating near the river should stay vigilant.
But there have been numerous other encounters with both black and grizzly bears this year. The Tribune pointed out that a large black bear was captured and later euthanized in June after killing chickens and wandering near the First Presbyterian Church in Cody on a Sunday morning; and a large male grizzly eluded capture earlier this month after raiding fruit trees within the City limits.
Three people were attacked this past month by bears in Northwest Wyoming – a backpacker in the Beartooths on September 9th survived an attack by what is assumed to be a grizzly, but no action was taken as the bear was defending its food stores. And less than a week later, a hunter was injured and his guide was killed near Jackson by a grizzly sow and her cub. Those bears were killed, as it was determined they were exhibiting unusually aggressive behavior.
As of last Friday, the Tribune notes that 48 grizzly bears were known to have died or have been killed in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this year, and 34 of those were human-caused deaths, primarily removals of grizzlies that attacked livestock or people and were euthanized.