Grand Teton bear killed after visitors fed, approached it

A black bear was euthanized at Grand Teton National Park after repeated encounters with visitors and human food left the animal increasingly comfortable approaching people.

Park wildlife staff killed the bear Sept. 11 in the Delta Lake area after monitoring what officials called a concerning pattern of behavior involving both the bear and visitors.

The park said the bear had received multiple food rewards from people and repeatedly approached visitors. Staff found the animal unusually difficult to scare away, a sign it had become conditioned to associate humans with food.

"We need to be clear: This bear was lethally removed because of poor decisions made by park visitors," park officials said. "It is everyone's responsibility to help keep bears wild."

Park staff had received several reports earlier this year of a black bear approaching visitors near Delta Lake. At the time, officials said there was not enough information to determine whether the behavior was an emerging food-conditioning problem or a series of isolated incidents.

The situation escalated last week, when the bear received multiple food rewards and continued approaching people. Several visitors received citations for approaching wildlife or violating food-storage requirements, according to the park.

Wildlife staff increased their monitoring…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/